Boody History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Boody family

The surname Boody was first found in Essex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Rockford, held by Alfred of Swain of Essex who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Boody family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boody research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1137, 1510, 1600, 1604, 1649, 1650, 1653, 1673 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Boody History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boody Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Boade, Boode, Bude, Boud, Boude and others.

Early Notables of the Boody family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Arnold Boate, De Boot, Bootius or Botius (1600?-1653?), English Hebraist, the son of Godefrid de Boot of Gorcom, Holland. "Born about...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boody Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Boody family to Ireland

Some of the Boody family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boody migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Boody name or one of its variants:

Boody Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Zechariah Boody, who landed in New England in 1716 2

Boody Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Boody, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1852 2

Boody Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bertha M. Boody, aged 42, arrived in New York, N.Y. in 1919 aboard the ship "Esperanza" from Havana, Cuba 3
Claire L. Boody, aged 33, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Canada" from Marseilles, France 3
Beretha Boody, aged 44, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Patria" from Naples, Italy 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Boody (post 1700) +

Robert Milton Boody (1836-1913), American soldier in the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Battle of Williamsburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 5, 1862 and May 2, 1863
Azariah Boody (1815-1885), American politician, Member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in 1853
David Augustus Boody (1837-1930), American businessman and politician, U.S. Representative from New York

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result