📸The Ashworth & Round family collection📷

I bought this collection of 70+ old photos back in March 2023 at Shepton Fleamarket. I spotted a box full of old photos on a sellers table and asked about them: were they all from one family? She said yes, so then I asked if she had sold any, and she said no.

So we did a deal on the whole lot. At the time, I had only looked at them briefly and saw a couple of names, so I thought it was worth taking a chance that I could trace the family and keep the collection together.

Two Surnames to start me off, Round and Ashworth.

The following old postcard in the collection was a gem, as I had a name and address, Mrs A C Round, living in Bury, Lancashire, and also who sent it, Ernest Round, her son.

The postcard was posted on the 16th of February 1914.

From Ernest Round to his mother, Mrs A C Round.

This collection is typical of what was left in old photo albums, shoe boxes, and biscuit tins by our ancestors; many of them, like this collection, have nothing written on the back because, at the time the photos were taken, everyone knew exactly who they were.

If you’re viewing on a phone, you can tap the photo twice to view full size.

Unfortunately, a couple of generations on, most surviving family members usually have very little or no idea at all.

Emma Round & Dolly Round, wife of Ernest Round.

Emma Round and Dolly Round, wife of Ernest Round. Another very helpful bit of information.

I started a family tree on Ancestry for the family in the hope of at least being able to identify those photos that have names written on the back.

By the time I had filled in a little of the family tree I was sure that I had the correct family.

Andrew Chambers Round had married Emma Ashworth and the couple had six sons. Here they all are together.

1911 census for Andrew Chambers Round & Emma (Ashworth)& their six sons.

I gradually added more information to the tree, spouses, children and siblings to Andrew and Emma. This is definitely the correct family.

It has to be Andrew Chambers Round & Emma (Ashworth)parents of Percy.

The following images, written on the back:

“Yourself standing in two tent doorway.

1913 Camping at Bare Morecombe. Sat Jan 1-1911. Sending you this as a reminder of many weeks each summer spent in a pleasant & bracing countryside.

It will be a happy day when I again see you off on some fishing excursion rather than ‘dine’? on Salt Fish.

Happy New Year. Yours ever, David” ?

Edith Bridge(1895-1975), the wife of Fred Round (1896–1983)

2 people have written on this photo back.

Says “Ernest Ashworth cousin to FR” is Ernest Ashworth marriage to Elizabeth Thomas in 1937.

Children above: Marion Rudman born 1925, Margaret Rudman born 1930, Brenda Rudman born 1933 & Walter Rudman born 1935.

All the rest of these old photos have nothing written on them at all. But I’m always hopeful that I might find some family photos online at Ancestry on a public family tree.

I will caption the ones that I have managed to identify.

Was this Ernest Round’s school in Cornwall?

The Round and Ashworth Family Story.

Roots in Victorian Bury, Lancashire.

Emma Ashworth was born on 15 March 1860 in Bacup, Lancashire, to John Ashworth, a 31-year-old worker (1829-1902) and Margaret McNeil Heap, 29 years old (1830-1891).

By 1881, at age 21, Emma was contributing to Lancashire’s famous textile industry, working as a cloth finisher while living in Elton.

Andrew Chambers Round was born in 1861, in Bury to James Round (32) and Margaret Chambers (31). Andrew’s early childhood was marked by loss: when he was just six years old, his mother Margaret died on 6 March 1867 at age 37.

His family structure changed over the following decade as his father remarried, introducing a sister, Margaret (born 1865), and half-siblings Annie Lees (born abt. 1873), Thomas William Lees (1875–1876, who died in infancy), and Frederic Lees (born 1879).

On 26 October 1886, 25-year-old Andrew married 26-year-old Emma in Bury. Their marriage marked the start of a 45-year partnership anchored in the industrial heartland of Bury.

Raising Six Sons in Bury.

In March 1887, just months after the wedding, Andrew’s father, James, passed away at age 58. Over the next fifteen years, Andrew and Emma built a large household, of six sons:

Percy James Round. Born 25 August 1887 in Littleborough.

Percy James Round: Baptized on 12 February 1905

Ernest Round. Born 31 December 1889 in Bury.

Ernest Round: Baptized on 12 February 1905

Charles Massey Round. Born 5 September 1892 in Bury.

(No baptism found for Charles Massey Round.)

Fred Round. Born 23 January 1896 in Bury.

Fred Round: Baptized on 23 November 1913

Henry Chambers (Harry) Round. Born 30 October 1899 in Bury.

Henry Chambers (Harry) Round: Baptized on 11 January 1914

Edgar Ashworth Round. Born 15 August 1902 in Bury.

Edgar Ashworth Round: Baptized on 11 January 1914

By 1891, the family had settled at Warth Fold, St Peter, Bury. As the new century turned, the family unit expanded and matured. Emma lost her mother, Margaret McNeil Heap, in October 1891, and her father, John Ashworth, around 1902 in Haslingden.

The Round family placed a strong emphasis on education and professional trades. Andrew worked as a schoolteacher, providing a stable, intellectual foundation for his six boys. The household remained deeply rooted in Bury through the census records of 1901, 1911, and 1921.

The Great War and Journeys Beyond Lancashire.

When World War I broke out in 1914, the young men of the Round family stepped up to serve:

Percy James Round served as a Private in the Lancashire Fusiliers (Regiment No. 200495), seeing service that took him as far as Walls, Orkney, and earning both the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Fred Round served as a Private in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (Regiment No. 97930), earning the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Harry Round also recorded military service between 1914 and 1920, stationed at age 15 in Walls, Orkney.

Following the war, the six brothers established their own careers and paths, spanning engineering, teaching, and international travel:

1. Percy James Round (1887–1969)

Percy returned to Bury after the war, working in 1921 as an Engineer’s Potters Maker. By 1939, he was established as a Master Joiner and Property Repairer. Percy remained single throughout his life, later spending time in Warwickshire around 1950 before returning to Bury, where he passed away in January 1969 at the age of 81.

2. Ernest Round (1889–1945)

Following his father’s footsteps into education, Ernest became a Head Teacher. On 9 July 1918, he married Dorothy Burrow in Birtle, Lancashire. The couple moved south to Cornwall, settling in Goonearl, Marazion (near West Penwith). They raised three children: Geoffrey Burrow (born 1919), Beatrice Dorothy (born 1920), and Hubert Arnold (born 1924 in Penzance). Ernest served as head teacher in Cornwall until his death on 29 March 1945 at the age of 55.

3. Charles Massey Round (1892–1964)

In 1921, Charles was working as a Fitter Engineer in Bury. On 5 June 1923, he married Ellen Olive Lamb at All Saints, Elton. The couple embarked on an overseas venture, emigrating via Canada (where daughter Beatrice M. was born in 1925) to North Hempstead, New York, where Charles worked as a sexton, and where son Norman was born in 1928.

Returning to England, Charles settled in London, working as an equipment assistant, before passing away on 17 September 1964 at 29 Dunblare Road, London, aged 72.

4. Fred Round (1896–1983)

Fred developed a career as an Engineering Draughtsman specializing in paper-making machinery. He married Edith Bridge in Bury in July 1921, and they had one son, Kenneth George (born 1926 in Clitheroe). During WWII, Fred served his local community as an ARP Warden. Edith passed away in 1975 after 53 years of marriage, and Fred lived to the age of 86, passing away in Bolton on 17 January 1983.

5. Henry Chambers (Harry) Round (1899–1989)

Harry worked alongside his brother Fred’s discipline as a Mechanical Draughtsman and General Engineering Plant Layer. In July 1935, he married Doris Lees in Bolton. They had one son, Alan Gordon, born in Radcliffe in 1938. Later in life, Harry and Doris moved to Huntingdonshire, where Doris passed away in 1987 in Godmanchester. Harry lived to be 89 years old, passing away in Huntingdon on 30 March 1989.

6. Edgar Ashworth Round (1902–1977)

The youngest son, Edgar, grew up in Bury and married Florence Smith in Bolton in January 1937. He spent his life in Lancashire and passed away in Bolton in April 1977 at the age of 74.

The youngest son, Edgar, trained as an Iron Plate Worker in Bury by 1921. On 11 January 1937, he married Florence Smith (1910–1994) in Bolton. By 1939, Edgar was living at 66 Chobley Road in Adlington, Lancashire, serving his community as a Police Constable. Edgar and Florence lived in Lancashire throughout their lives; Edgar passed away in Bolton in April 1977 at age 74.

The later years of Andrew and Emma.

After seeing all six of their sons grow into manhood and navigate the interwar period, Andrew Chambers Round passed away on 16 May 1932 in Lancashire at the age of 71, ending a 45-year marriage. His probate was settled in Manchester on 30 June 1932.

Emma survived Andrew by seven years. The 1939 Register captured her living in Lancashire as a widow performing unpaid domestic duties. She passed away shortly after the outbreak of World War II on 10 November 1939 in Bury at the age of 79. Her probate left £346 6s 4d to her son Fred Round, closing the chapter on the foundational generation of the Round-Ashworth family line in Bury.

Here’s a link to the public family tree I have compiled on Ancestry: Ashworth/Round Family Tree

Some of the Next Generation: The Cornish Branch & An American Journey.

Ernest Round and Dorothy Burrow’s three children, raised in the coastal setting of Marazion, Cornwall, carved out distinct adult lives:

Geoffrey Burrow Round (1919–1968)

Born on 3 August 1919 in Marazion, Geoffrey grew up in Cornwall. In October 1943, he married Barbara M. Baker in Penzance. Geoffrey lived his life in the region, passing away in Cornwall on 8 September 1968 at age 49.

Hubert Arnold Round (1924–1996)

Born on 10 June 1924 in Penzance, Hubert spent his youth in Cornwall. In July 1949, shortly after his mother’s death, Hubert married Vera Taylor in Bolton, Lancashire. He later returned to the South West, passing away in Truro, Cornwall, in September 1996 at age 72.

Beatrice Dorothy Round (1920–2015): A Transatlantic Life

Born on 18 August 1920 in Marazion, Beatrice followed the family tradition of entering education to become a Teacher. Following the deaths of her father in 1945 and her mother in April 1949, 28-year-old Beatrice made the decision to emigrate to the United States.

On 13 August 1949, she departed Southampton, arriving in New York later that month.

By 1950, she had settled on the West Coast in Crescent City, California, working as a schoolteacher.

After a brief return visit to England via Quebec and Liverpool in August 1950, Beatrice formally established her permanent residence in the U.S. achieving U.S. Naturalization in San Francisco on 23 July 1957.

Beatrice remained unmarried, enjoying a long life on the Pacific coast before passing away on 28 July 2015 in Brookings, Oregon, at the age of 94.