Sarah Wells & Sons, a table knife manufacturer, was first listed in a directory in 1829, operating from Backfields. The owner, Sarah Wells (c.1774-1849), was a widow. Her husband, Thomas Wells, had apparently died in 1825. Thomas’s background is obscure, but he was probably baptised in 1781, the son of Christopher Wells, a tailor. Thomas was apprenticed to file smith Isaac Andrews in 1795. However, he never became a Freeman and his name did not appear in any directory. His burial was at St Paul’s on 24 March 1825, when he was aged 44, though there was no press obituary. Sarah’s sons in the business were Samuel (1801-1856) and Henry (1808-1855).
By 1834, the address was Wellington Street, where the Wells’ family occupied Trafalgar Works. According to one report, the factory was extensive with a hundred men and boys employed (Sheffield Independent, 30 June 1838). A minor dispute with the firm’s table blade forgers was reported in The Sheffield Iris, 7 December 1841, when it was stated that Sarah was no longer a partner. The partners were Samuel and Henry Wells and Thomas Wiley, but this arrangement was dissolved in 1842, when the firm was bankrupt. In the 1840s, Sarah Wells and Samuel Wells lived at adjacent properties in Wellington Street and remained involved in manufacturing table knives. John Styring Hadfield (see Styring & Hadfield) joined the business, after he had married Samuel’s daughter, Sarah. In 1849, Sarah Wells & Sons was still listed at Trafalgar Works. Samuel Wells became the chief partner.
Sarah Wells died, aged 75, on 14 August 1849. Her obituary noted that she had become a Wesleyan Methodist, aged 19, and had then joined the Methodist New Connexion on its formation (Sheffield Independent, 18 August 1849). She was buried in St Paul’s churchyard. Henry Wells died on 19 October 1855 at Oak’s Bank, Broomhall, aged 47. His consecrated burial was in the General Cemetery. Samuel Wells & Son was listed after 1856, with Samuel residing at Stanton Broom, Glossop Road. He died on 20 November 1856, aged 54, and was buried in the General Cemetery. John. S. Hadfield died, aged 38, in the following year on 7 May. The burial was unconsecrated, but he was interred in Samuel’s family grave. His widow, Sarah, died on 30 October 1889, aged 65. The company ceased trading. C. J. Wingaard later occupied Trafalgar Works.