Boston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Boston family
The surname Boston 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 Boston family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boston 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 Boston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Boston 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 Boston 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 f...
- Thomas Boston the Elder (1676-1732), was a Scottish theologian and schoolmaster from Duns, Berwickshire, known for his works "The Crook in the The Lot" and "Human Nature in its Fourfold State."
- Thomas Boston the Younger (1713-1767), was a Scottish relief minister, the youngest son of Thomas Boston (1677-1732) and was born at Ettrick on 3 April 1713. 3
Boston Ranking
In the United States, the name Boston is the 1,946th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 5
Boston migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Boston Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Henry Boston, who settled in Virginia in 1643
- Hen Boston, who landed in Virginia in 1643 6
- Elizabeth Boston, who landed in Virginia in 1656 6
- Margarett Boston, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 6
- Henry, Boston Jr., who landed in Maryland in 1663 6
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Boston Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Joseph Boston, who landed in Virginia in 1701 6
- Joseph Boston, who settled in Maryland in 1728
- Thomas Boston, who settled in Maryland in 1731
- Samuel Boston, who landed in America in 1760-1763 6
Boston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Christian Boston, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1800 6
- Bart Boston, aged 44, who landed in New York in 1812 6
- Mark Boston, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1812 6
- W W Boston, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
- Mr. Boston, who settled in San Francisco, California in 1850
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Boston migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Boston Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Thomas Boston, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
- Cumberland Boston, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
- Thomas Boston, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
Boston migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Boston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Walter Boston, Scottish convict from Inverness, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
- Mr. George Boston, (Bassons), (b. 1828), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in Knutsford (Nether Knutsford), Cheshire, England for 7 years for felony, transported aboard the ""Blenheim"" on 24th July 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island, Australia 8
Boston 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:
Boston Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Stephen Boston, (b. 1861), aged 18, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Stad Haarlem" arriving in Lyttleton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th April 1879 9
Contemporary Notables of the name Boston (post 1700) +
- Ralph Harold Boston (1939-2023), American athlete, who won a gold medal in Long Jump at the 1960 Olympic games and later two more gold medals
- Rachel Elizabeth Boston (b. 1982), American actress and producer
- Daryl Lamont Boston (b. 1963), American Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1984 to 1994
- David Byron Boston (b. 1978), American former NFL and CFL football wide receiver who played from 1999 to 2008
- Nancy Boston (b. 1940), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2004 10
- John Boston, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Judge of Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 2000 10
- John Boston, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Dakota, 1940 10
- John Boston, American politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1854 10
- Harold W. Boston, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Wirt County, 1942 10
- Dennis M. Boston, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 2000 10
- ... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Historic Events for the Boston family +
- Mr. William John Boston (d. 1912), aged 30, English Deck Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 11
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)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html