John Watson (c.1769-1835), a partner in silver plater Kirkby, Waterhouse & Co (see Waterhouse, Hatfield), registered his own silver mark in 1795 at Furnace Hill.   He was listed in the Sheffield directory (1797) as a silver and plated goods manufacturer.  He then became the principal in John Watson, Pass & Co, which was located at Hartshead.  His partner was John Pass.  They did not register a silver mark, but had an office in London and exported to North America and the West Indies.  In 1816, Daniel Parkes (the London partner, of Essex Street, Strand) left the company.  At that time, the other partners (besides Watson and Pass) were William Harwood and Francis Dunn (the executors of Paul Harwood), John Hancock, William Harwood, and Lewis Thomas.  John Pass died in 1817 and was buried at St Paul’s church on 29 October.   His executors, Robert Moss and William Pass, relinquished his interest in the firm, leaving Watson, Harwood, Hancock, Thomas, and Dunn as partners.  In 1822, the firm was wound up.  The leasehold property of John Watson, Pass & Co was offered for sale.  It included workshops, warehouses, counting houses, a large yard, and a substantial dwelling house, ‘fit for the reception of a genteel family’ (Sheffield Independent, 5 January 1822).  

John Watson & Co became the ‘successor’ as a manufacturer of silver-plated goods.  John Watson had an interest in this firm, alongside his sons:  Thomas (1794-1829) and John Jun. (1800-1878).   The firm registered a silver mark in 1822 at Burgess Street, though by 1825 the location was Fargate.  In 1828, John Watson Jun. left the partnership.  But in the following year on 8 April his brother Thomas died.   John rejoined his father, until the latter’s death on 13 February 1835, aged 66.   His burial (like Thomas’) was at Upper (Unitarian) Chapel.   The firm was left in the hands of John Jun. and his father’s executors: namely his widow, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Mary Ann (now the husband of John Shirt Fretwell, who was also a partner).  In 1836, John Watson Jun. assumed sole control of the business.  It had now moved to Arundel Street and by the start of the 1840s had a London office at Salisbury Street, the Strand.  In 1845, however, John Watson filed for bankruptcy.   A sale of John Watson & Co’s dies, tools, and materials was advertised in The Sheffield Independent, 8 November 1845.   Two years later, an ‘Absolute Sale’ of the Strand stock was advertised (Morning Chronicle, 2 February 1847).  

Whatever the reason for the company’s demise – the arrival of electro-plating probably did not help – John Watson remained highly regarded by his redundant workers.  They wrote a testimonial to the local newspaper, expressing sympathy for the ‘unfortunate circumstances of his leaving the business’:

There are amongst us, those who have been employed by your father, and who have known you from a child.  We therefore think that such, so situated, having had dealings with you the whole of your business life, would know something of the man; and notwithstanding all the trials of man’s temper and vexatious circumstances which will at all times occur amongst a number of men, we never knew you commit yourself in any way dishonest or dishonourable (Sheffield Independent, 6 September 1845).

John Watson launched a second career as an accountant and share broker.  By 1868, he was operating as John Watson & Son, share brokers, accountants, insurance agents, and agents for Chubb’s locks and safes.  His business address was the Assay Office at Fargate.  He had been appointed a Guardian of the Assay Office in 1838 and later served for 24 years as Assay Master.   He died at his residence 16 Broomhall Park on 9 August 1878, aged 77.  His burial was at Fulwood.  He left £25,000.  His sons, by his wife, Matilda née Wright, were William Henry (1840-1890) and Arnold Thomas (1846-1924).  Both served as Assay Masters.  The latter published a short account of the Sheffield Assay Office and its role in the history of the silver trade (Watson, 1890).