Thomas Hardy (1822-1892) was the son of John Hardy and his wife, Mary.  His brother was Robert E. Hardy.  Thomas was listed in 1845 as a maker of pearl and polished steel articles, button hooks, and corkscrews in Sheffield Moor.   By the mid-1850s, Thomas was at Milton Street.  He advertised regularly in directories, offering cutlery, dressing case instruments, nail and champagne nippers, and nutcrackers.   The firm won a Prize Medal for its dressing case instruments at the Great Exhibition (1851); and another award at the London International Exhibition (1862).  Thomas employed about six workers.  The trademark was ‘FREEDOM’ (granted in 1791).  In 1871, the workforce was twenty men and five boys; and 22 men, eight boys, and eight girls a decade later.  Thomas’s sons, John (1847-1891) and Thomas Jun. (1857-1892), became partners.  

However, Thomas himself, his wife (Eliza), and sons were dead within three years.   Thomas Jun. died on 29 July 1890, aged 33, and was buried at Norton Cemetery.  He left £628.  His mother, Eliza, died at Harrogate on 18 September 1890.  John died on 7 December 1891, leaving £1,515.  His burial was at Ecclesall.  Thomas Hardy, of Montgomery Road, died on 7 December 1892, aged 70, and was interred in a grave in the General Cemetery (with the remains of Eliza and brother Robert).  Thomas left £9,763.  The business continued under John’s sons, John Henry Hardy (1873-1955) and Thomas Arthur Hardy (1875-1973).  During the 1930s, the address was Wessex Works, Milton Street.  After the War, John Henry was the senior partner.  A Freemason and Methodist, he died in Ecclesall on 26 January 1955, aged 81.   He left £44,140.  The next generation – John Hardy (1905-1985), who was John Henry’s son; and Thomas Norman Hardy (1903-1979), who was Thomas Arthur’s son – were partners.  The company ceased trading in about 1963.