Profile: The Bass Family

The Bass Lineage: A Weaver’s Legacy in Blackburn

When Mary Alice Rawcliffe Rothwell married John Bass on 2 March 1882 at the Furthergate Congregational Church, she laid the foundation for a new chapter in the Rawcliffe family story — one that continued to spin its threads in Blackburn’s weaving sheds and bustling neighborhoods.

John Bass, born around 1861, shared Mary Alice’s industrious spirit, and together they raised a large family against the backdrop of cotton mills and rapidly changing times. Their first child, Aquila Bass, arrived the same year they married, in 1882. Though his life was heartbreakingly short — he passed away in 1890 — he was the forerunner of a line that would carry the Bass name into the 20th century.

The couple’s second child, Martha Bass, born around 1885, also died in infancy. Despite these early losses, the family continued to grow. Their daughter Alice (born circa 1887) and son Samuel (born around 1888) would have come of age as Blackburn navigated the final decades of the Victorian era. The family's resilience was evident as they moved from Alker Street to Cook Street, where Mary Alice lived out her final years.

The youngest children — Harry, William, and Elizabeth Bass — were born between the mid-1890s and 1899. Records indicate Harry passed away in childhood, but William and Elizabeth likely saw the dawn of modern Britain, shaped by the industrial landscape their parents had known so intimately.

Living at 18 Cook Street by 1911, Mary Alice managed a household that had endured hardship yet remained rooted in love, labor, and endurance. Her death in 1916 at that address marked the end of an era, but the Bass children and their descendants would carry her legacy forward.

Though their stories are still unfolding, the Bass family’s roots in Blackburn are planted deep in the same soil that nourished the Rawcliffes — a testament to endurance, work ethic, and the bonds of kinship.

Profile: Rawcliffe Family

The Rawcliffe Family of Blackburn: A Legacy Woven Through Lancashire’s Cotton Mills

The Rawcliffe family story unfolds in the heart of industrial Lancashire, where weaving looms, cobbled streets, and a tightly knit community defined the rhythms of life. At its center stands Martha Alice Rothwell, born on 25 April 1840 in Blackburn, to Henry Rothwell and Alice Hacking. Although her birth year fluctuates across records—from 1837 to 1841—what remains constant is her enduring presence in Blackburn’s working-class fabric, quite literally: she was a cotton weaver her entire adult life.

In 1864, Martha married Samuel Rawcliffe at St. Michael’s Church in Blackburn. Samuel, likely born around 1839, also in Blackburn, worked variously as a labourer, carter, and general haulier. The pair shared a life that saw them move through multiple addresses—Alker Street, Swarbrick Street, Cob Street—places which map the flow of Lancashire’s industrial heartbeat. They remained in Blackburn throughout their lives and were residing on Birley Street when Martha passed away on 22 July 1899, following a cerebral apoplexy. Samuel, still living and working at the same address as a carter at the time, faded from official records not long afterward.

Together, Martha and Samuel had one biological daughter, Mary Alice Rawcliffe Rothwell, born 1 May 1861 at Union Buildings, Blackburn. Her middle name, Rothwell, perhaps signifies the importance of her maternal lineage. Like her mother, Mary Alice entered the weaving trade, working half-time by the age of ten. Over the years, she lived mostly on Alker Street and Cook Street before her death on 15 February 1916 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She married John Bass in 1882 at the Furthergate Congregational Church. Their seven children included Aquila, Martha, Alice, Samuel, Harry, William, and Elizabeth—a testament to a thriving family legacy rooted firmly in Blackburn.


The Rawcliffe family profile—built from scattered census entries, occupational listings, church records, and burial sites—forms a poignant and richly textured tapestry of working-class resilience. Their story, while deeply local to Blackburn, echoes the larger narrative of 19th-century English industrial life: anchored by hard labour, uplifted by family, and quietly heroic in its constancy.

Mary Alice Rothwell Birth

A few weeks ago, I posted about Mary Alice Rothwell and the fact that she was born about 1861, prior to her parents, Samuel Rawcliffe and Martha Alice Rothwell getting married. The census records suggest that Mary Alice Rothwell was born about 1861-1862, whereas her parents were married 27 August 1864.

I first came across this baptism record with a baptism date of 13 October 1861:

The baptism record gives her name as Mary Alice Rothwell (although Rawcliffe is also given as it as the father's surname). The parents are listed as "Samuel & Martha Alice Rothwell". This is consistent with the two of them not being married in 1861 - her maiden name is given. A birthdate for Mary Alice is also given as 1 May 1861.

I next had a look for a birth record. Records on Ancestry point to this birth record for an Alice Rawcliffe born in Blackburn in 1861:

But I had my doubts, first because the given name is just Alice, and also because the surname is Rawcliffe, and it's more likely that the name on the birth record would have been Rothwell. I checked the GRO indexes and the mother's maiden name did not match.

I had a look under the name Rothwell and found one listing that matched. A Martha Alice Rothwell, born in Blackburn in 1861. So I ordered the record:

It's definitely the one, with a birth date of 1 May 1861, and the names match.

X00188 Solved! Part 4

I've posted about X00188 previously. In Part 2 of the post, I mentioned how there were additional names listed in the burial record for Henry Rothwell. In Part 3 I had a look at the Mary Slate name to see how she could be related to the family. In this part, I look at the Martha Bass name to see if she is related to the family.

I first went and found the original burial record:

Which gives a burial date of 24 June 1885 and an age at of six months. It lists her as the daughter of John and Mary Alice Bass.

So the next step was to find a marriage record for John Bass and Mary Alice to see if there is any more evidence there. Sure enough, I was able to find a marriage record between a John Bass and a Mary Alice Rawcliffe Rothwell in 1882:

The name of Rothwell, does suggest that I'm on to the right marriage, although there is no information given for the father. The birth year of about 1862 would likely be too late to be a child of Henry and Alice Rothwell. So I had a look at some of Henry and Alice's children

Sure enough, I managed to find a marriage between Martha Rothwell and Samuel Rawcliffe in 1864:

This marriage record lists a Henry Rothwell as a father and a James Rothwell as a witness. As well, the birth year of Martha Rothwell matches the birth year of a known daughter of Henry Rothwell named Martha. So I'm willing to conclude that the Martha Bass in the burial record is connected to the Henry Rothwell from my family. With the evidence here and of the Mary Slater connection, I am also willing to conclude that the Henry Rothwell who died in Blackpool is the correct one.

One interesting thing to note is that the Rawcliffe-Rothwell marriage took place after Mary Alice was born, which might explain why her surname was Rothwell and not Rawcliffe and that the father is not listed on her marriage certificate. More to investigate on that later.