The Cadmans were an old Derbyshire family from Eckington, a hamlet several miles south of Sheffield. The family has been traced to the sixteenth century (Harrison, 19941; Richardson, 20032). The Cadmans were farmers (maltsters), but in the eighteenth century the family gravitated to the Sheffield cutlery and edge tool industry (see David Cadman, Peter Cadman, Thomas R. Cadman & Sons, and Roberts, Cadman). The Cadmans in Charles Cadman & Sons came from Spinkhill Manor, Derbyshire. Benjamin Cadman (1718-1797) was listed in Lambert Street, Sheffield, as a file maker in 1787 and 1797, using the trade mark ‘BIEN’ (granted in 1751). His son was Charles Cadman (1756-1806), who had been granted his Freedom in 1791. Charles’s son was Charles Cadman (1780-1852), who by 1828 was listed as a file manufacturer in Lambert Street.
By 1837, Charles Cadman & Sons operated from Canal Steel Works, Blast Lane, as a steel and file merchant (though it also sold cutlery, such as razors). In 1841, Charles retired. The firm moved to Andrew Street, Wicker, under Charles’s sons: Henry (1811-1886) and Edwin (1809-1872). In the 1840s, additional partners – Charles Walker and Richard Guiness Hill – joined. They withdrew in 1848, followed by Edwin Cadman in 1857. Edwin died at Westbourne House, Broomhall, on 16 November 1872, leaving under £450. Henry became senior partner with his sons: Charles William (1838-1900), Henry Alfred (1840-1892), George Edward (1841-1914) and Peter Frank (1848-1902). Henry withdrew in 1872. He died at Underwood House, Pitsmoor, on 4 December 1886. He left £6,837 and was buried in Ecclesall.
In the 1870s, Henry A. Cadman started his own steel and tool company, Cadman Brothers. Charles Cadman & Sons continued at Canal Works under George Edward Cadman (with Peter Frank a partner until 1875). The latter became a clergyman and died after a fall from a horse in Orange River Colony. The old firm was not listed by the 1890s, though George E. Cadman described himself as a steel and file merchant in the Census (1901). He died on 30 April 1914, leaving £210.
1. Harrison, M, ‘Cadman Families With Others’ (1994), typescript in Sheffield City Library Local Studies
2. Richardson, Ann, Cadman Family History (Orlando, FL, 1998)