This family of scissors manufacturers can be traced to Jonathan Sharp, who was a grocer at Tickhill, near Doncaster.  He married Sarah and had three sons: John, Thomas, and Jonathan (bapt. 1772?).  John was apprenticed to scissors maker Emmanuel Colley in 1783 and became a Freeman in 1795; Jonathan was apprenticed in 1789 and became a Freeman in 1797; and Thomas served his apprenticeship under scissors maker George Linley from 1789 and gained his Freedom in 1797.   John and Jonathan went into partnership with Robert Hawksley (who was the son of John, who became a Freeman in 1791, after apprenticeship to Emmanuel Colley).  Hawksley & Sharp was a scissors maker listed in the directory in 1797 at Pond Street, using the trade mark ‘SHARP’.   In 1809, this enterprise (which now included William Kaye) was dissolved.   That may have been because John Sharp had died: a scissorsmith of that name was buried at the parish church (St Peter & St Paul) on 12 November 1809.  Jonathan continued to trade alone at King Street (in 1811 and 1818) and Pond Street (in 1821).

After 1821, Jonathan’s name disappeared from directories and presumably he had died (though no burial has been traced).  His wife was Hannah née Hale (c.1775-1852), by whom he had at least three sons – Matthew Hale (bapt.1796-1850), Edward (bapt.1799-?), and Thomas (bapt.1802-1807) – and a daughter, Mary (1808-?).   In directories in 1822, 1825, and 1828 Matthew & Edward Sharpe were listed as scissors manufacturers at Pond Street.  Only Matthew was listed in 1833 at Pond Street, when he was living at Bow Cottage, Duke Street, Park.  In 1837, he was described as a scissors manufacturer and cutlery dealer at Love Street.  He seems to have abandoned manufacturing by the late 1840s and was a commercial traveller.  Matthew and his mother, Hannah, lived at the same address at Upperthorpe (according to the Census and directories).   However, in 1847 Matthew was admitted to Haydock Lodge Lunatic Asylum, near Warrington.  He died there from dropsy on 8 April 1854, aged 54.   His mother, Hannah, died at Upperthorpe on 22 March 1852, aged 77.  Matthew’s ‘relict’, Amelia née Pitfield, died on 21 April 1860.  She left effects under £450.