Joseph Bartholomew (1806 - )

Joseph Bartholomew was born in 1806 in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire to John Bartholomew (1770 - ) and Frances Hawkins (1770 - ).

He married Eliza Knight (1809 - ), and soon thereafter they had three children, in quick succession, seemingly all in Great Bedwyn:

Benjamin Bartholomew (1829 - )
William Bartholomew (1833 - )
Ann Bartholomew (1834 - )

1841 Census, Great Bedwyn

The 1841 Census finds Joseph (35), a bricklayer, with Eliza (32), and their children Benjamin (14), William (9) and Ann (7). They were living on the High Street in Great Bedwyn.

1851 Census, Great Bedwyn

By 1851, Joseph (46) is alone at 32 High Street with Benjamin (23) also a bricklayer, and Ann (17). Eliza has perhaps passed away by this point. (This Census lists Benjamin as having been born in Shelbourne, Wiltshire.) William (19) is not mentioned, so perhaps he and Mary have already started their own family, elsewhere -- his first daughter Eliza is only a few years away, after all.






1861 Census, Great Bedwyn

 By 1861, Joseph (57) has remarried, to Mary Lloyd of Merton(?) Wiltshire. He lives at 41 Church Street in Great Bedwyn, with Mary (53), Benjamin (32) bricklayer, Anne (27) and Elizabeth Lloyd (15), his new daughter in law.

1871 Census, Great Bedwyn

By 1871, Joseph (67) is now at 15 Church Street in Great Bedwyn, with wife Mary (63) and Benjamin, now 42 and a general labourer. We can only speculate on how welcome Benjamin was, still living at home.

1881 Census, Great Bedwyn

By 1881, Joseph Bartholomew (now 77) is an "annuitant", living on Church Street, Great Bedwyn, with a housekeeper, Selina Viveash (70) of Wilton, Somerset. Benjamin, it appears, has moved on.










Little else is known about Joseph and Eliza (or Mary), at this point.

A quick online search suggests that Joseph Bartholomew was the grandchild of William Bartholomew (1728 - ) and Jane (1729 - ). This elder William may have had two other siblings, Mary Bartholomew (1723 - ) and John Bartholomew (1730 - ). They may have been the children of Thomas Bartholomew (1702 - ) and Hannah Carter (1702 - ). Much remains to be done to confirm that lineage, however.

William Bartholomew (1833 - )

William Bartholomew was born in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire in 1833, the third child of Joseph Bartholomew (1806 - ) and Eliza Knight (1809 - ).

Presumably sometime prior to 1853, William married Mary A. Bartholomew (birth-name unknown) (1832 - ).

William and Mary had five children, all of whom were born in Great Bedwyn:

Eliza A. Bartholomew (1853 - )
Martha Bartholomew (1855 - )
George J. Bartholomew (1858 - )
Lydia E. Bartholomew (1865 - )
Harry I Bartholomew (1867 - )

1861 Census

By the next Census in 1861, they are living at The Weems(?) in Verrnhams Dean, in Hampshire. Their family has grown to include Eliza (8), Martha (6) and George (3). William lists his trade as bricklayer.

1871 Census

The 1871 Census catches the family now in St. Pancras in London. William (39) is still a bricklayer, with Mary (38), Eliza (18) now a dressmaker, Martha (16) also dressmaking, George (14) a factory worker,  Lydia (6) and Harry (4).

1891 Census

By 1891, the family is now at 33 Anatola(?) Rd. in Islington, London. William, still a bricklayer, is now 58. Living with him are just Mary (57), and Harry (24), a general labourer.









It is not currently known when or where William or Mary were finally laid to rest.

Martha Bartholomew (1854 - )

Martha Bartholomew appears to have been born in 1854. She was the daughter of Mary A. Batholomew (1832 - ) and William Bartholomew (1833 - ), bricklayer. She had four siblings.


Martha was married to Robert Rowsell on August 5, 1872 in Fulham, Middlesex, England. She was listed in the marriage certificate as being 18 yrs. old. They were both listed as living on Dawson Street in Fulham at the time. The marriage was witnessed by her father, William Bartholomew, as well as Robert's brother, Albert Rowsell, and Albert's wife, Caroline. At the time of his marriage, Robert's occupation is listed as "Stonemason".




Robert and Martha had 8 children:

Edith Rowsell (born: 1873 in Holloway, England).
Evelina M. Rowsell (born: 1875 in Holloway, England).
Elizabeth Rowsell (born: 1877 in Enfield, England).
James J. Rowsell (born: 1879 in Hoddeston, England).
Albert Tom Rowsell (born: 1881)
Winnifred Rowsell
Rose Rowsell
Ernest (Edgar?) Rowsell

Robert is still listed as a "stone mason" at the time of Albert Tom's birth in 1881, at which time he and Martha were living at 107 Flood Street, South Chelsea, Middlesex, England.

The circumstances of Martha's death are not known at this time.




Robert Rowsell 1851 - 1900

Record of Birth

Robert Rowsell was born on February 8, 1851 on the High Street, Taunton, Somerset, England.

He was the son of James Rowsell, stone mason, and Charlotte Lovell.







Robert had 8 siblings:

Emily Rowsell (born: 1846, in Taunton).
Albert Rowsell (born: March 19, 1849 in Taunton) (publican)
John Rowsell (born: 1853 in Taunton)
Walter Rowsell (born: 1854 in Taunton)
Tom Rowsell (born: 1859, in Taunton) (tailor).
Maria Rowsell (born: 1861, in Taunton) (dressmaker).
Elizabeth Rowsell (born: 1865 in Taunton)

Record of Marriage

Robert was married to Martha Bartholomew on August 5, 1872 in Fulham, Middlesex, England. At the time of his marriage, Robert's occupation is listed as "Stonemason". Martha was listed in the marriage certificate as being 18 yrs. old, meaning that she was probably born in 1853. (The 1881 Census has her birth in 1856, however, so it is possible she may have been 16 or 17 at the time of the marriage.) They were both listed as living on Dawson Street in Fulham at the time. Martha's father, William Bartholomew, bricklayer, is named in the marriage certificate. The marriage was witnessed by his brother, Albert Rowsell, and Albert's wife, Caroline.



Robert and Martha had 9 children:

Edith Rowsell (born: 1873 in Holloway, England).
Evelina M. Rowsell (born: 1875 in Holloway, England).
Elizabeth Rowsell (born: 1877 in Enfield, England).
James J. Rowsell (born: 1879 in Hoddeston, Hertford, England).
Albert Tom Rowsell (born: 1881)
Rose Rowsell (born: 1883)
Lily Rowsell (born: 1887)
Ernest Rowsell (born: 1889)
Maude Rowsell (born: 1892)

1881 Census, Chelsea

Robert is still listed as a "stone mason" at the time of Albert Tom's birth in 1881, at which time they were living at 107 Flood Street, South Chelsea, Middlesex, England. The 1881 Census captures Robert's household with Martha (25), Edith (8), Evelina M. (6), Elizabeth (4) and James J. (2). Interestingly, Edith and Evelina were born in Holloway; Elizabeth in Enfield, and James in Hoddeston, Hertford. So, it appears the family may have moved around in the 1870s, perhaps to follow Robert's occupation as a stonemason on various jobsites.  We don't really know why they moved to London.




1891 Census, Enfield

 The 1891 Census finds Robert (40) mason and Martha (37) living at 212 Fern(?) Villa in Enfield, Middlesex, with children Edith (18), Evelina (16) domestic general servant, Ada (14), James (12), Albert (9), Rose (7), Lily (5), Ernest (2) and an unnamed daughter (Maud) just 1 day old! As Maud was probably born at home, we can just imagine how grateful Martha would have been to greet a census-taker at the door -- or perhaps grown-up Edith handled the task, with nosy Ernest at her feet, while Martha rested upstairs.

1901 Census, Enfield

The 1901 Census captures Robert (49) stonemason and Martha (46) living at 138 Acacia Rd. in Enfield, Middlesex. They have their children Edith (28), Rose (18), Lily (14), Ernest (12) and Maud (9).

1911 Census, Enfield

By the time of the 1911 Census, the family has been reduced to Robert (60), Martha (56) and granddaughter Winifred Rerns(?) (18) of Enfield. They were living in a 6 room house at 66 Morley Hill in Enfield.







The circumstances of Robert's death are not known at this time.





Albert Tom Rowsell 1881 - 1958




Albert Tom Rowsell was born on June 25, 1881 at 107 Flood Street, South Chelsea, Middlesex, England.

He was the son of Robert Rowsell and Martha Bartholomew, who created a large, London family of two boys and seven girls. For much of his life, he seems to have adopted the use of his middle-name, "Tom".

1901 Census, Enfield

In his late teens, Albert Tom went to live with the Tucker family in the Devonshire Dairy at 126 Baker Street, in the St. Andrew's part of Enfield. The 1901 Census finds him there at 19, listed as a "servant" and "milk carrier". Sometime between 1901 and 1908 he met and married Agnes Elizabeth Muncey.







By the time of son Leslie's birth in 1908, he has graduated to "Master Dairyman". At that time, they were living at 48 Birkbeck Rd., Enfield, England.

His occupation is listed as a "Greengrocer" in Wilfred Albert's birth certificate in 1909. At that time, they were living (next door?) at 50 Birkbeck Rd., Enfield, England.

1911 Census, London

The 1911 Census finds Albert (30) and Agnes (26) living in a 3-room house at 4 Squires Lane in Edmonton, Middlesex. He is listed as a worker in the Dairy Trade. They have 3 children, Leslie (3), Wilfred ("1 and 8 months"), and Stanley (3 mos). Agnes, who signed the census sheet, reports that these are all of the children that she has had so far. If any of the persons then present were suffering an infirmity such as "Lunatic", "Imbecile" or "Feeble-minded", that information has mercifully been concealed.

Altogether, Albert Tom and Agnes had 6 children:

Leslie Rowsell (born: 1908, in Enfield).
Wilfred Albert Rowsell (1909 - 1977)).
Stanley Rowsell (born: 1911, in Hornsby, Middlesex).
Claude Rowsell
Lionel Rowsell
Douglas Rowsell

They had innumerable grandchildren, including the one pictured here in Albert Tom's arms, next to his daughter-in-law, Bessie (wife of Douglas).

Labour Corps Discharge 1917

In the First War, Albert Tom became a part of the Labour Corps (formerly the Royal Pioneer Corps), enlisting in October, 1916. At the time, he was living in Lower Edmonton, at the age of 35. The Labour Corps were used primarily for road building, clearing up areas and general duties. A granddaughter observes that this service may have prepared Albert well for his future years as a "hedger and ditcher". Besides, at 4'6", he would likely not have been too much of a threat to the enemy anyway. He was discharged about a year later.

Hertfordshire Cottage Where Albert lived in the 1940s.

Albert Tom's grandson writes: "From a six-year-old grandson's perspective, Grandad was a grizzly old man, not that much bigger than me, but sporting a bushy grey mustache that tickled.  I was evacuated with him in Hertfordshire during the first part of the Second World War when London was under siege.  Unlike the reputation that preceded him as the strict disciplinarian raising six sons in extremely difficult circumstances, he was kind and gentle with me and we enjoyed many "country" experiences together.  His house was a sixteenth-century stone farm labourer's cottage with no electricity or running water.  I believed he lived there as part compensation for keeping local hedgerows clear from obstructions.  Transportation was by pony and trap, frightening to me as the pony struggled to keep his feet on the winding road down to Hertford and then struggle back loaded down.  Tom did show his intolerent side when uncontrollable laughter followed frequent  equine flatulence during each journey.  I was clearly not a country boy.  I never knew my grandmother, she had died prematurely at age forty-six but my mother spoke kindly of her." 



Death Certificate



His death certificate in 1958 lists him as a "Roadman, retired", living at Penny Royal Cottage, Bayford, England. Albert died on February 9, 1958 at the age of 67. The cause of death was listed as "cerebral thrombosis". He was identified by his son, Wilfred Albert.