Thomas Hackett 1809-1879
At the age of 22 he married Catherine Peters who came from a prominent family at Kingston upon Hull. They set up home at 20 Uttoxeter Road in Derby and parish registers show that they were living there when their children William Peters (b 1837), John (b 1839) and Thomas (b 1841) were born.
His house in Uttoxeter Road was just round the corner from Talbot Street where his father had a house and business premises at nos. 27 and 33. He was clearly involved with the rapidly growing business at an early age as directory entries for the firm were under the name of John Hackett and sons from as early as 1816
The mill at Tansley, which is about 20 miles away from Derby, had been owned by John Hackett for a number of years. There was a directory entry for John at Tansley in 1828 and he took a prominent role in the Tansley Methodist Church. He was in the Tansley electoral register for 1832 but was probably still living at Talbot Street, Derby for much of the time. Presumably he had a manager to run things at the Tansley mill.
In 1842 Thomas moved his family from Uttoxeter Road to the village of Tansley where his fourth child, Catherine, was born in 1843. Entries in the census form for 1851 indicate that the house he lived in was possibly a large stone-built house, now called Oak Lodge, opposite the Anglican Church. This is in easy walking distance of the mills and he now took over full responsibility for operations at Tansley.
Thomas was listed as a Tape and Smallware manufacturer in the Tansley Census report of 1851. His household consisted of his wife, Catherine, eight children and two servants. Like his father he was involved in the Methodist Church.
Thomas must have been well known in the county as he appeared in the County List of Gentry for Derbyshire. In Freebody's Directory of 1852. Normally this would consist of landowners and "gentlemen of leisure" who did not have to earn their living in trade. This was not true for Thomas as he was dependent for his income on the profits of manufacture and trade rather than inherited wealth. It does indicate, however that he played an active part in the social life of the County.
His father died in 1857 and Thomas inherited part of the extensive manufacturing and retail business which he had previously been running in partnership with his father John. White's Directory of 1857 listed "Radford, Edward. Cotton Spinner, Tansley Wood" and "Hackett, Thomas, Smallware Manfr." This provides confirmation that Thomas was now entirely in charge of the business following his father's death.
A business card of about 1860 is inscribed:
Directory entries of the time show that he inherited the mills at Tansley and Derby as well as the warehouse and retail premises in Great Charlotte Street Liverpool. His sister Elizabeth Kent inherited other parts of the business in Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and had an interest in the Liverpool business.
In 1861 the census record noted that his employees numbered 210 workers. This must have been nearly all the working population of Tansley as, in the 1861 directory, the total number of people living there was given as 610. By the time of the 1871 census his household had increased to 12 in number including 3 servants.
Evidence that he was an active Methodist comes from the fact that in 1861 a 25 year old Wesleyan Methodist minister, Edmund Slater from the Cromford Circuit, Bacup, Lancaster was staying with his household at Tansley. It was the practice for itinerant preachers to be accommodated with local church members when they visited a town.
His second son, John, who moved from Tansley to Quarnden near Derby when he married in 1866, owned a share of the firm but unfortunately died at the early age of 29 years in 1868. The fact that he made his will five days before he died in the Hotel du Souvre at the resort town of Hyeres in the South of France suggests that he may have died of tuberculosis His body was transported back to England and was buried family tomb in the "Dissentors' Graveyard" in front of the Tansley Methodist Chapel
Possibly because of this unfortunate loss, his eldest son, William Peters (Peters was his mother's maiden name), resigned his commission in the Local Volunteers which he had held for seven years, in order to become more involved in the firm. A contemporary account in the Derby Mercury of a farewell dinner in a local hostelry given for William by his unit demonstrates that he did not conform to the Methodists ideas about abstinence.
Kelly's Directory for 1876 listed "Baines, AK & Co, Cotton doublers and bleachers, Tansley Wood Mills" and "Hackett Thomas & Son, Smallware Manfs".
Piggot's Directory of Manchester for 1881 has the entry, Thomas Hackett and Son Tape and smallware Manufacturer etc, 21 Turner Street Works, Tansley Mills Matlock This is the only record of a Manchester place of trade, it may indicate that he was expanding the business to Manchester or possibly he intended to transfer it there. It was out of date, however, because by 1881 Thomas was dead and his son William Peters had moved his family to Manchester.
Thomas died on the 17th September 1879 at Tansley The cause of death as recorded on his death certificate was 'apoplexy' which was the term then used for what would now be called a stroke. An inquest into his death was hold by the Coroner for the High and Low Peaks of Derbyshire on 19th September 1879. His occupation as recorded on the death certificate was smallware manufacturer.
Thomas's inscription on the family grave outside the Methodist Chapel at Tansley reads:
Less than two years after his death the Derby Mercury for August 3rd 1881 contained the following insert:
"TO BE LET Tansley Cotton Mills and Bleach Works with adjoining cottages situate one mile from Mat lock Bridge Station (adaptable if necessary to a paper works) Good steam and water power. To be let on a seven year lease from Michaelmas next for further particulars apply to Messrs C Brocklehurst & Son Market Street, Manchester."
The Kelly's Directory for 1881 listed Robert Lowe Junior as a Smallware Manufacturer at Tansley Mills
In the same year the Tansley Wood Mills appear to have changed hands as the Derby Mercury for Wed 2nd February 1881 contained an advertisement on behalf of A.K Baines offering its contents for sale.