Show ContentsBastone History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Bastone family

The surname Bastone was first found in the Scottish Borders at Gattonside where "their name appears in record as Boustoune and Bowstone. There is a town named Boston in Lincolnshire, but the Scottish name may be of local origin. Bernard Boustoun was one of the witnesses to a charter by Andrew, abbot of Melrose, 1540. " 1

Further to the south in Boston, Lincolnshire, "this place derived its name from St. Botolph, a Saxon, who founded a monastery here about the year 650; from which circumstance it was called Botolph's Town, since contracted to Boston. " 2

Philip Baston or Boston (d. 1320?), was a Carmelite, brother of Robert Baston and was born at Nottingham. He was ordained priest on 22 Sept. 1296. His brother Robert Baston (fl. 1300), was also a Carmelite monk. He became Prior of the Abbey of Scarborough. "He seems to have acquired a great reputation in his own age for elegant verses. At Oxford, says Pits, he was not unworthily crowned with laurel as a rhetorician and a poet. He is said to have been taken to Scotland by Edward I to sing his praises at the siege of Stirling (1304.) " 3

The Poston variant originated in Essex where John de la Posterne was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1202 and then later in the Feet of Fines for 1242. 4

Early History of the Bastone family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bastone research. Another 170 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1410, 1634, 1638, 1676, 1677, 1713, 1732 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Bastone History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bastone Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Boston, Bouston, Bowstone, Bostown, Bostowne, Bostoun, Bawston, Bauston, Bawstone, Baustone, Bowsting, Bowstain and many more.

Early Notables of the Bastone family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Buriensis Boston (fl. 1410), or John Boston of Bury, author of the 'Catalogus Scriptorum Ecclesiæ' and the 'Speculum Cœnobitarum,' an Augustinian monk belonging to the abbey at Bury St. Edmunds. His full name was probably John Boston, his surname being perhaps taken from the town of his birth or...
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bastone Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


New Zealand Bastone migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bastone Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Bastone, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston aboard the ship "Eagle" arriving in New Zealand in 1850 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Bastone (post 1700) +

  • William Bastone (b. 1961), American editor and co-founder of The Smoking Gun website which posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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