The early career of Robert Hadfield (1757-1807) was spent as a warehouseman and shop man for John Greaves (c.1708-1779), a factor in Fargate (Leader, 1876¹).   In 1781, Hadfield married Anne Bennet (d. 1812), who was in service in the Greaves’s household.  He became a successful merchant and factor, who exported cutlery by makers such as Nowill.   He lived in St James’s Street, with his warehouse at the back.  Until 1804, Robert Hadfield had several partners – Samuel Greaves, George Oates, John Hoole, and John Shearwood.   He was a prominent Nonconformist and after his death on 19 August 1807, aged 49, he was buried in the family vault in the yard of Howard Street Chapel.  His wife died in 1812, aged 64.  They had two daughters and five sons.  The fourth son, James (1786-1820), died on 17 February 1820, aged 33.  ‘He retired to rest on Wednesday evening, apparently in good health, and was found in bed a lifeless corpse the following morning’ (Sheffield Independent, 1 February 1820).  The youngest son, Robert, died on 11 May 1828, aged 36.  Two other sons, Joseph (d. 22 August 1846) and Samuel (1780-1849), continued the family firm in St James’s Street.  Samuel was Master Cutler in 1827 and again in 1838 (when George Wostenholm declined the Mastership due to business commitments in America).  He was also a Town Trustee.  

Samuel died on 31 December 1849 at Crookesmoor House, Nether Hallam (Sheffield Independent, 5 January 1850).  He was buried in a vault below the Samuel Worth Chapel in the General Cemetery.  He left £10,000 to his brother, George, who honoured Samuel’s wishes by settling £3,000 on the Hanbey Charity at the Company of Cutlers, so that its provisions were no longer restricted to members of the Church of England (Sheffield Independent, 25 May 1850; Binfield & Hey, 1997²).   The most prominent of Robert Hadfield’s sons was George Hadfield (1787-1879), who in 1810 began a successful career as a solicitor in Manchester.  A staunch Congregationalist, he was Liberal MP for Sheffield, 1852-1874.  He died in Manchester on 21 April 1879, leaving £250,000 (about £32m at current prices) – an estate said to have been largely inherited from his brothers (Sheffield Independent, 26 April 1879).  He was buried in Rusholme Road Cemetery, Manchester.   

^1. Leader, Robert E, Reminiscences of Old Sheffield (Sheffield, 2nd edn 1876)

^2. Binfield, C and Hey, D (eds), Mesters to Masters: A History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire (Oxford, 1997)