Thomas Asline Ward. Image courtesy of Geoff Tweedale
Samuel Broomhead (c.1722-1786), after apprenticeship to his father, Henry, was granted his Freedom in 1742 and a pistol and ‘L’ mark. His brothers were Benjamin and Joseph (see Benjamin and Joseph Broomhead). Samuel’s apprentice was Joseph Ward (1745-1820), who was granted his Freedom in 1769 and a pistol and diamond mark. They formed Broomhead & Ward, which was listed in 1774 as a table knife cutler in Pond Lane. Samuel was a tenant at Stalker Wheel between 1765 and 1786. Samuel died on 19 August 1786, aged 64, without children. However, his widow Mary married Thomas Ward (Joseph’s father). Ultimately, Joseph became Samuel’s heir and owner of Broomhead & Ward. In 1790, Joseph Ward became Master Cutler. By the end of the eighteenth century, Broomhead & Ward was based at the corner of Howard Street and Eyre Street, where the family lived next to the warehouse. Joseph Ward died on 15 April 1820 and was buried at St Peter & St Paul church, inside which a plaque commemorates Samuel and Joseph.
Joseph Ward’s son by his first marriage was Samuel Broomhead Ward (24 May 1770-27 July 1849), who in 1794 bought Mount Pleasant in Sharrow – one of the finest houses in Sheffield. He was Master Cutler in 1798. Joseph’s son by a second marriage was Thomas Asline Ward (1781-1871), who had been born on 6 July 1781 (the complex genealogy is detailed in Hunter, 1875, and Bell, 1910). Thomas joined the business after leaving school. Little information is available on his early career, though he became Master Cutler in 1816. Apparently, he was a captain in the local Volunteers during the Napoleonic War, but later returned to the ‘peaceful pursuits of industry’ (Sheffield Independent, 2 December 1871) alongside his half-brother, Samuel. Their partnership in Broomhead & Ward lasted until 1823. Thomas was then partnered by his brother John Ward (1801-1868) in T.A. & J. Ward, which by the early 1820s was listed as a merchant, table knife, and razor manufacturer at 4 Howard Street (later the site of Walker & Hall).
In 1826, a new partnership – Wards, Brown & Morton – was formed in Howard Street. This involved (alongside Thomas and John) John Morton, once an assistant with James Hall & Son, and George Brown. Morton withdrew in 1834. Two years later, Wards & Brown was dissolved, and the assets taken over by C. & H. Johnson (Christopher Johnson). This marked Thomas’s retirement from active business. He lived at Park House, East Bank. He had always been closely involved with municipal affairs and was an ardent political reformer (though he was not elected when he stood for Parliament). He settled into a comfortable lifestyle, while writing his diary (later published by Bell, 1910). His writings, unfortunately, rarely illuminate his business career. Nor do his extensive obituaries. He died at Park House on 26 November 1871, aged 90, and was buried at Upper (Unitarian) Chapel. He left under £12,000. One son, Asline Ward (1821-1905), lived in New York as agent for George Wostenholm. Another son, Frederick Ward (1825-1908) founded his own company.