DWGF Roundheads
The history of the Roundhead family is more complicated than simply being one uniform bloodline. “Roundhead” came to encompass several related families, particularly the Boston, Allen and Shelton branches, while Lacy, Brunner, Dan Gray and other families developed their own identities over generations.
A brief history of the Roundhead
The early Boston Roundhead — the older foundation
One traditional history traces the earliest Boston/Gill Roundheads to 1864, when a trio of gamefowl arrived at the East Boston docks from England/Ireland. John Harwood, a dock employee, acquired them and gave them to Ned Gill, who bred them. They became known as Gill Roundheads or Boston Roundheads. The birds were described as light reds with black breasts, pea combs and yellow legs.
The important caveat is that the original shipping records were reportedly lost, so the exact foreign ancestry is not firmly documented.
The line subsequently passed through breeders including John McCoy, John Stone, Frank Coolidge and the Duryea family.
The Boston Roundhead subsequently became an important foundation for later Roundhead families.
Will Allen of Forman, Mississippi is credited with developing the famous Allen Roundhead family.
One account describes Will Allen of Mississippi obtaining a Boston Roundhead cock from Dr. Fred Saunders of Salem, Massachusetts and breeding him to hens carrying Grady/Redquill ancestry. Through subsequent selection and linebreeding, the Allen Roundhead became one of the most influential branches of the family. He subsequently linebred the resulting offspring back toward the Roundhead side.
Allen recognized that while their initial performance was impressive, their ability to sustain a fight when it became a "tug-of-war" needed improvement. He experimented with different breeds to enhance their gameness and stamina, eventually finding success by incorporating the Mahoney Gull into the bloodline.
The Grady family itself reportedly contained several older American/Oriental-derived influences, including Claiborne, Shawl-neck/Whitehackle, Warhorse and some Spanish Blue.
Will Allen and Burnell Shelton — the critical connection.
This is the part that is particularly important about Shelton Roundheads.
Several historical accounts state that Burnell Shelton of Mississippi was Will Allen’s brother-in-law, and that the two men were associated with the Roundhead stock. Some accounts even say they owned or worked with the fowl together.
A 1940s-era Lacy account specifically identifies Burnell Shelton as having a distinctive Roundhead family in Mississippi.
Judge Ernest Lacy said that he obtained a Roundhead hen directly from Shelton, then bred her to a white-legged Roundhead cock belonging to Judge E.W. Long. Lacy subsequently obtained additional Shelton Roundheads.
The Shelton Roundhead is one of the historic American Roundhead families associated with Burnell Shelton of Mississippi in the early 20th century. Shelton’s Roundheads were already established before Judge Ernest Lacy began his own breeding program around 1915–1916. Judge Lacy obtained Shelton Roundhead stock and combined it with Allen Roundhead blood, later incorporating a very small amount of Bair Brown-Red blood.
A man named Bair reportedly bought a Shelton Roundhead cock in 1913 or 1914, known as “Cackling Sam.” He bred it to a pea-combed black hen obtained from Alva Campbell of Kentucky. Their offspring became the foundation of the Bair Brown-Red family. Lacy subsequently incorporated a tiny amount of this blood into his Roundheads.
Through intensive selection and linebreeding, Lacy established the famous Lacy Roundhead family. Thus, the historical relationship is more accurately described as Shelton → Lacy, with Allen and Shelton forming the principal foundation of the Lacy family, rather than Lacy being the creator of the original Shelton Roundhead.
H. H. Cowan and the Alabama Roundheads
Another important branch of Roundhead history developed in Alabama through H. H. Cowan.
By the early twentieth century, Cowan was breeding what became known as the Alabama Roundheads.
Historical material from the 1924 period is especially valuable because it gives us a contemporary glimpse into this breeding program rather than relying solely on much later internet descriptions.
T. K. Bruner and the Bruner Roundheads
T. K. Bruner of Alabama became closely associated with H. H. Cowan and the Alabama Roundheads.
A particularly valuable historical account from 1924, attributed to H. H. Cowan and T. K. Bruner, states that Bruner had been breeding Alabama Roundheads for approximately ten years.
This places the beginning of Bruner’s serious breeding program around: 1914.
Bruner’s birds eventually became known as the Bruner Roundheads, sometimes spelled Brunner Roundheads by later breeders.
The distinction is important: historical sources identify the breeder as T. K. Bruner, while “Brunner” became a common modern spelling of the bloodline.
Historical photographs and breeder accounts describe Bruner’s birds as essentially Bruner’s own version of the Cowan Roundhead.
One major caution: the name Roundhead eventually became a broad label for many pea-combed American gamefowl, so a modern bird called “Shelton,” “Boston,” “Allen,” or even “Lacy” does not automatically prove direct descent from the historic foundation stock.
Over the decades, breeders such as Gilliam, Dan Gray and Brunner developed their own identifiable Roundhead families. Consequently, modern Roundheads should not be regarded as one genetically uniform strain; rather, they represent a broad historical family of related bloodlines shaped by different breeders, selections and breeding programs.
The reputation traditionally associated with Roundheads is that of an athletic, alert and intelligent gamefowl, with emphasis in breeder descriptions on agility, timing, awareness and adaptability. These descriptions are historical breeder lore rather than scientifically standardized characteristics, and individual families can vary considerably.
DWGF ROUNDHEADS
The Ring Generals of Dragon Warrior Gamefarm
The Dragon Warrior Gamefarm (DWGF) Roundheads represent a carefully assembled foundation of five distinguished Roundhead families, selected for their historical pedigree, proven performance and complementary characteristics.
Our Roundhead foundation incorporates:
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Shelton Roundheads: including several proven 2-time and 3-time winning broodcock families, together with selected pure pullets and several pure Trio families that we had subsequently acquired through the help of various friends like Captain Vicente Seva. Our Sheltons traces their origins from the late Mark Aguirre of Negros.
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Garry Gilliam Lacy Roundheads: We got these roundheads from the imported families of Joey Salangsang of General Santos City.
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Dan Gray Roundheads: our Dan Grays came from the 6-time winner family line of our friend Anthony Garcia, who got his original Dan Gray Trios from Dan Gray himself. We also got pure imported Dan Gray broodcocks and hens coming from the personal breeding stocks of Larry Romero in Lousiana, through our breeding friend in Texas, USA, Ely Andresio. Larry was very close to the late Dan Gray and his family in Louisiana. We also got some Dan Grays from the stock of Joey Salangsang many years ago.
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Boston Roundheads. We started with 3 proven broodcocks and some pure hens from our breeding friends Emoy Ayuste, Capt Vicente and Jimmy Felizarte. Then we acquired again a Boston broodstag and 4 proven pure pullets.
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Bruner Roundhead. Our Brunner Roundhead came from the proven imported Brunners of Pros Antonio.
The Roundhead family has a long and distinguished history in American gamefowl breeding. Its roots are commonly traced to the old Boston Roundhead family of the 1800s, which subsequently contributed to influential branches such as the Allen and Shelton Roundheads. The Lacy Roundheads were later developed from Allen- and Shelton-related stock, while other breeders established their own recognizable branches and families over generations.
This history is important to DWGF because we do not view the name “Roundhead” as simply a color, comb type or label. The Roundhead name represents generations of selective breeding and preservation by different breeders who developed distinct families within the broader Roundhead tradition.
At Dragon Warrior Gamefarm, we brought together five of these established families to create our own DWGF Roundhead foundation. Our objective has always been to preserve the characteristic qualities traditionally associated with the Roundhead family while selecting only from proven, productive and complementary breeding stock.
THE DWGF ROUNDHEAD PHILOSOPHY
Roundheads have long been admired by breeders for their intelligence, alertness, timing, agility and ability to adapt to changing situations. These qualities have given rise to the traditional description of the Roundhead as a “Ring General”—a bird that appears to rely not merely on physical ability, but also on awareness, judgment and timing.
For DWGF, the most important consideration is not simply the name attached to a bloodline. It is the quality of the individual family and the consistency of the breeding stock behind it.
That is why our Roundhead program is built around proven families, carefully selected broodcocks, quality pullets and generations of performance-based selection.
FIVE ROUNDHEAD TRADITIONS — ONE DWGF FOUNDATION
By bringing together Shelton, Gilliam Lacy, Dan Gray, Boston and Brunner Roundheads, DWGF has created a diverse Roundhead genetic foundation while retaining the identity and heritage of each family.
The result is our own DWGF Roundhead, representing the Dragon Warrior approach to breeding:
Heritage + Proven Bloodlines + Selective Breeding + Consistency
Our Roundheads are maintained as an important part of the DWGF breeding program and have been evaluated through our farm’s breeding and competition history in the Philippines, including both cock- and stag-derby environments at the World Slashers Cup, Pitmaster Cup, Bakbakan, and many other derbies.
At Dragon Warrior Gamefarm, we believe that a great bloodline is not created overnight. It is built through generations of selection, preservation, testing, and disciplined breeding.
That is the legacy we intend to carry forward with the DWGF Roundheads.
DWGF ROUNDHEADS
Five historic Roundhead families.
One Dragon Warrior foundation.
A legacy of intelligence, timing and athleticism.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Dragon Warrior Gamefarm — We Breed Champions!🇵🇭
