Contents [hide]

Bowden History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Bowden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the Bowden family took their surname from a place name. The roots of this place name lie with the ancient Viking settlers. The Bowden surname comes from someone having lived on the lands of Bowden, in Roxburghshire where the family held lands since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Bowden family

The surname Bowden was first found in Bowden, in Roxburghshire."For a period of about two hundred years various persons of the same surname are witnesses to a number of charters These are not mentioned as holding lands in the parish, but would appear to have been kindly tenants of the monastery who took their name from the barony. The monks of different periods were in the practice of sub-letting the lands of the barony, and some of the lands, on whatever condition originally let, came at length to be held by the parties in hereditary right". Between c, 1200 and c. 1240 one or more individuals named Richard de Boulden witnessed charters by Cecilia de Molle, Symon Maulverer, etc. Master Richard de Bouldone, parson of the parish of Edilstone, rendered homage to King Edward I of England in 1296. William de Bolden was Abbot of Kelso in 1370, and in 1399 we have mention of the tenement of John de Bolden in Westerkelsow.' 1

Gilbert Boddane who witnessed an instrument of sasine at Bordland of Laik, Kirkcudbrightshire in 1552. Later, John Bodane in Meiklehalf, 1686 (Kirkcudbright), and John Boddane and Williame Boddane were recorded as masters of families in the parish of Buittle, 1684. 1

Early History of the Bowden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowden research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1296, 1450 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bowden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowden Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were quite undeveloped in the Middle Ages. Consequently, the spelling of Scottish names was an inconsistent practice, usually governed by the unique ear of the scribe recording the name. Over the years, Bowden was spelled Bowden, Bouden, Boulden, Bouldene, Bolden, Boldane, Boldan, Boden, Bodden and many more.

Early Notables of the Bowden family

Notable among the family at this time was

William Bowden Abbot of Kelso

Bowden World Ranking

In the United States, the name Bowden is the 1,293^rd most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 2 However, in Australia, the name Bowden is ranked the 446^th most popular surname with an estimated 8,430 people with that name. 3 And in New Zealand, the name Bowden is the 473^rd popular surname with an estimated 1,448 people with that name. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Bowden as 547^th with 11,886 people. 5

Migration of the Bowden family to Ireland

Some of the Bowden family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowden migration to the United States +

Opportunity and land greeted those who made it all the way. Some had the opportunity to solidify their new freedom by fighting in the American War of Independence, while others went or stayed north as United Empire Loyalists. Recently, the ancestors of those brave settlers have been able to recover much of their heritage through Clan societies and other patriotic organizations. A thorough examination of passenger and immigration lists has disclosed evidence of many early immigrants of the name Bowden:

Bowden Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ambrose Bowden who settled in Maine in 1620
Joan Bowden, aged 24, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Paul" 6
Philip Bowden, who settled in Virginia in 1636
Jane Bowden, who landed in Virginia in 1642 6
Phillip Bowden, who arrived in Virginia in 1646 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowden Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Samuel Bowden, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1745 6

Bowden Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Bowden, who arrived in America in 1810 6
William Bowden, aged 56, who landed in America in 1821 6
Alexander Bowden, aged 24, who arrived in America in 1821 6
Margaret Bowden, aged 45, who arrived in America in 1821 6
Miss Grace Bowden, (b. 1828), aged 12, English settler departing from England aboard the ship "Royal Adelaide" arriving in the United States on 21st April 1840 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowden Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. John Bowden, (b. 1858), aged 42, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 18th February 1900 en route to Hancock, Michigan, USA 8
Mr. Richard Bowden, (b. 1882), aged 21, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 3rd May 1903 en route to Calumet, Michigan, USA 8
Mr. Samuel Bowden, (b. 1884), aged 19, Cornish labourer travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 15th August 1903 en route to Chicago, Illinois, USA 8
Ms. Elizabeth M. Bowden, (b. 1838) aged 65, Cornish labourer, from Bodmin, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Etruria" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 8th August 1903 en route to Brooklyn, New York, USA 8
Mr. William Bowden, (b. 1881), aged 24, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Butte, Montana, USA 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowden migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bowden Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Robert Bowden, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
Edward Bowden, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
John Bowden, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Bowden Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Bowden, aged 32, a gentleman, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Alchymist" from Falmouth, Cornwall, England
George Bowden, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Billow" in 1833
Mr. Joseph Bowden, (b. 1832), aged 23, English labourer, from South Molton, Devon, England, UK departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, he survived the sinking 9

Bowden migration to Australia +

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

Bowden Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Bowden, British Convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. George Bowden, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for life, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
William Bowden, a glazier, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. Samuel Bowden, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for life, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 19th August 1829, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Richard Hanbury Bowden, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 27th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowden 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:

Bowden Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Bowden, who landed in Stoke's Valley, New Zealand in 1840
Mrs. Bowden, Australian settler travelling from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia aboard the ship "Bandicoot" arriving in New Zealand in 1846 14
Child Bowden, Australian settler travelling from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia aboard the ship "Bandicoot" arriving in New Zealand in 1846 14
Miss Jane Bowden, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 14
Mr. Michael Bowden, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 19th October 1859 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowden migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Bowden Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Michaell Bowden, aged 27, who landed in St Christopher in 1633 6
Michael Bowden, aged 27, who landed in St Christopher in 1633 6
John Bowden, who settled in Jamaica in 1661
Richard Bowden, who settled in Barbados in 1664
Martha Bowden, who settled in Barbados in 1664

Contemporary Notables of the name Bowden (post 1700) +

Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden (1929-2021), American college football coach for the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006
Jim Bowden, American SCUBA diver, and an elite technical diver, one of only eight people who have dived below a depth of 800 feet
Blake Sperry Bowden (b. 1967), American psychologist, playwright, and actor
Lemuel Jackson Bowden (1815-1864), American lawyer and politician, mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia (1862-1863) and US Senator
Henry Bowden, American Republican politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Virginia, 1932 16
George Edwin Bowden (1852-1908), American Republican politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1881; U.S. Representative from Virginia 2nd District, 1887-91; Member of Republican National Committee from Virginia, 1896 16
Francis C. Bowden, American politician, Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, 1946-48 16
F. Judson Bowden, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1952 16
Daniel V. Bowden, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Alabama, 2000 16
D. P. Bowden, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 19th District, 1913-14 16
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bowden family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Laurence Bowden (1922-1941), Australian Stoker 2nd Class from Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 17

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Eric Sidney James Bowden, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 18

HMS Royal Oak

Reginald Charles Bettis Bowden (1915-1939), British Able Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 19

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Joseph Bowden, English Able-Bodied Seaman from Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 20

Citations +

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/wreck_of_emigrant_ship_john_1855.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/