Show ContentsBowater History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Bowater family

The surname Bowater was first found in Middlesex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Bowater family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowater research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1476, 1487, 1510 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Bowater History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowater Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bowater, Boewater, Bowatar, Boughwater and others.

Early Notables of the Bowater family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • the Bowater family of Middlesex


United States Bowater migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bowater Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Tho Bowater, who landed in Philadelphia, Pm in 1683 1

Australia Bowater migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bowater Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Bowater, British Convict who was convicted in Shropshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 2
  • Mr. Daniel Bowater, (b. 1817), aged 20, English labourer who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Blenheim" on 11th March 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1890 3
  • Mr. Benjamin Bowater, (b. 1816), aged 22, British Convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1875 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Bowater (post 1700) +

  • Lt.-Col. Sir Ian Frank Bowater GBE, DSO, TD (1904-1982), English politician, Lord Mayor of London from 1969 to 1970
  • William Vansittart Bowater (1838-1907), English founder of Bowater Scott, now known as Rexam, one of the United Kingdom's largest packaging businesses
  • WV Bowater, English businessman, who began a paper merchant business in London, England in 1881, which would become the Bowater corporation of pulp and paper mills in North America
  • Sir Michael Patrick Bowater (b. 1949), 5th Baronet
  • Sir John Vansittart Bowater (1918-2008), 4th Baronet
  • Sir Thomas Dudley Blennerhassett Bowater (1889-1972), 3rd Baronet
  • Sir Euan David Vansittart Bowater (b. 1935), 3rd Baronet
  • Sir Noël Vansittart Bowater (1892-1984), 2nd Baronet
  • Sir Rainald Vansittart Bowater (1888-1945), 2nd Baronet
  • Sir Frank Henry Bowater (1866-1947), 1st Baronet
  • ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. 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)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel


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