The pp → nK + Σ + (1385) reaction is a very good isospin 3/2 filter for studying ∆ ++ * resonance decaying to K + Σ + (1385). Within the effective Lagrangian method, we investigate the Σ(1385) (spin-parity J P = 3/2 + ) hadronic production in the π + p → K + Σ + (1385) and pp → nK + Σ + (1385) reactions. For π + p → K + Σ + (1385) reaction, in addition to the "background" contributions from tchannel K * 0 exchange, u-channel Λ(1115) and Σ 0 (1193) exchange, we also consider the contribution from the s-channel ∆ * (1940) resonance, which has significant coupling to KΣ(1385) channel. We show that the inclusion of the ∆ * (1940) resonance leads to a fairly good description of the low energy experimental total cross section data of π + p → K + Σ + (1385) reaction. Basing on the study of π + p → K + Σ + (1385) reaction and with the assumption that the excitation of ∆ * (1940) resonance dominants the pp → nK + Σ + (1385) reaction, we calculate the total and differential cross sections of the pp → nK + Σ + (1385) reaction. It is shown that the new experimental data support the important role played by the ∆ * (1940) resonance with a mass in the region of 1940 MeV and a width of around 200 MeV. We also demonstrate that the invariant mass distribution and the Dalitz Plot provide direct information of the Σ + (1385) production, which can be tested by future experiments.