| ![Show Contents]() Bolts History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of BoltsWhat does the name Bolts mean? The German state of Prussia, which reached the zenith of its power in the late 19th century, is the glorious birthplace of the distinguished surname Bolts. In the medieval era, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the German lands were inhabited by a variety of Barbarian tribes. The borders of the Barbarian kingdoms changed frequently, but the region that became known as Prussia was roughly divided between the areas of Brandenburg-Prussia, West Prussia, and East Prussia. The colorful history of Brandenburg-Prussia provides a glimpse at the oldest origins of the Bolts family. Early Origins of the Bolts familyThe surname Bolts was first found in Mecklenburg. 1 As seen by the Coat of Arms, the name could have been an occupational name for someone who built bolts or darts. Around the 1200-1400's some of the family moved from Friesland to Pomerania, where Bolte or Boldeke was a popular personal name. An early record was found in Stettin (Szczecin), West Pomerania in 1344. A few years later, Hans Bolting was listed in 1411 and later again, Joachim Bolte, Mayor of Wolgast, was knighted in 1675 as Bolte von Boltenstern. He was elected by the Swedish King Karl XI in 1675. 2 His son, Franz Michael von Boltenstern (1657-1716) was a German lawyer and director of the royal Swedish court in Greifswald. He and his wife had ten children including his son, Johann Franz von Boltenstern (1700-1763) who was judge at the court court and at the Wismar high tribunal. Early History of the Bolts familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bolts research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1700, 1716, 1763, 1786, 1796 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Bolts History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bolts Spelling VariationsOne can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Bolts include Bolte, Boltt, Boltte, Boldt, Boldte, Bollte, Bolt and many more. Early Notables of the Bolts familyCarl Gottfried von Bolte, who was a cavalry officer possessing estates in Pomerania.
Johann Franz von Boltenstern (1700-1763) was a German lawyer and judge at the Court Court in Greifswald and at the Wismar Higher Tribunal. He was the son of Franz Michael von Boltenstern (d. 1716), director of the royal...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bolts Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Bolts migration to the United States | + |
The state of Prussia was a great influence on the shape of modern Germany. After the Second World War, Prussia's land was divided among the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany and West Germany and the state was abolished. Some Prussians remained in those countries after the war, while many others migrated to North America in search of a new start. Philadelphia was their primary point of entry to the United States, after which many of them moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. A large number of Prussians also migrated to Ontario and the prairie provinces as United Empire Loyalists. Analysis of immigration records has shown some of the first Boltss to arrive in North America, and among them were:
Bolts Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Hans Georg Bolts, aged 25, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 3
Bolts Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Jacob Bolts, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1804 3
| Contemporary Notables of the name Bolts (post 1700) | + |
- William Bolts (1740-1808), Dutch adventurer, born about the year 1740, and after being, according to his own account, brought up in a merchant's office, and afterwards in Lisbon at the time of the earthquake, he found himself in Calcutta in 1759 4
- Rietstap, Johannes Baptista, Armorial Général. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
- Bahlow, Hans, Dictionary of German Names. translated by Edda Gentry, Wisconsin: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-924119-35-7)
- 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)
- Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
 |
