Boswick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Boswick is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Cheshire, where they derived their name from the township of Bostock, in the parish of Davenham.

Early Origins of the Boswick family

The surname Boswick was first found in Cheshire at Bostock, a township, in the parish of Davenham, union and hundred of Northwich. "This place gave name to a family descended from Osmerus, lord of Bostock in the reign of William the Conqueror: the heiress of the elder branch brought the manor in the latter part of the 15th century to the Savages." 1

"John Bostock, Abbot of St. Alban's, a learned divine and poet in the time of Henry VI., was born [at Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire], and was commonly called John of Wheathampstead." 1

Early History of the Boswick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boswick research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1593, 1614, 1623, 1654, 1773 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Boswick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boswick Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Boswick family name include Bostock, Bowstock, Boast, Bostake, Bostick and many more.

Early Notables of the Boswick family

Distinguished members of the family include John Bastwick (1593-1654), an English Puritan physician and controversial writer, born at Writtle, in Essex. "He was entered of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, on 19 May 1614, but remained there only a very short time. Leaving the university without a degree, he went 'on his travels,' and served for a...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boswick Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Boswick family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Boswick surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Francis Boast and his wife and five children settled in Nova Scotia in 1774; Henry Bostock settled in Maryland in 1779; Henry Bostock settled in Barbados in 1635.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.