Contents [hide]

Boulton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Boulton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Boulton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where they derived their name from any of several places named Boulton or Bolton. The name literally means district characterized by bends from the Old English words boga and land. 1

There are numerous place names throughout the north of England named after this illustrious family including Bolton le Sands in Lancashire, Bolton Castle, Bolton Percy and Bolton upon Dearne in Yorkshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to Bodeltone 2 and it is generally understood that this if the first reference for most of these places.

Early Origins of the Boulton family

The surname Boulton was first found in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumberland and Northumberland. The latter "is memorable as the scene of a meeting in 1209, between John, King of England, and William, King of Scotland." 3

The Boldon Book was prepared on orders of Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham in 1183 and while similar to the Domesday Book from a century before, the book lists lands and properties of what would later become County Durham which is now known as the North East. Only four known manuscript copies exist today.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings for the family: Michael de Boulton, Yorkshire; and Thomas de Boulton, or Bolton, Lincolnshire. 4

In Scotland, the name was "probably from Bolton in East Lothian. Adam de Boultone was reeve of Dunfres, 1287. William fiz Geffray de Boultone del counte de Edeneburk rendered homage, 1296. John of Boulton was employed as a mason at Castle of Linlithgow, 1302, and Robert of Bolton, a Scot, was released from prison in Colchester, 1396." 5

More recently, some of the family were found at Wrightington in Lancashire. "Harrock Hall, the seat of the Boulton family, was purchased in 1839 from the Rigbys, of whom, in 1567, it had already been the residence for four generations: the house, around which are 420 acres, has been restored by the present possessor." 3

Early History of the Boulton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boulton research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1191, 1321, 1570, 1572, 1575, 1592, 1606, 1611, 1619, 1631, 1633, 1639, 1640, 1645, 1648, 1650, 1654, 1659, 1666, 1680, 1844, 1868, 1878 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Boulton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boulton 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 Boulton family name include Boulton, Bolton, Bolten, Boalton, Boultoun, Boultown, Boltan, Boulten and many more.

Early Notables of the Boulton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Edmund Bolton or Boulton (1575?-1633?), an English historian and poet, born in or about 1575;
Sir Richard Bolton (1570?-1648), English lawyer, son of John Bolton, of Fenton, Staffordshire; Sir Edward Bolton (1592-1659 ), an English-born judge who served for many years as Solicitor General for...

Boulton Ranking

In the United States, the name Boulton is the 11,592^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Boulton is ranked the 868^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,851 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Boulton family to Ireland

Some of the Boulton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 237 words (17 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boulton migration to the United States +

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 Boulton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Boulton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Boulton, who landed in Virginia in 1610 8
Thomas Boulton, who landed in Virginia in 1628 8
Ann Boulton, who landed in Virginia in 1634 8
Nicholas Boulton, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1644 8
William Boulton, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boulton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Boulton, who landed in Virginia in 1702 8
John Boulton, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1710 8
Richard Boulton, who settled in Maryland in 1719
DArcy Boulton, who arrived in New York in 1797 8

Boulton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Giles Boulton, who arrived in New York in 1824 8

Boulton migration to Australia +

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

Boulton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Boulton, (Bolton), (b. 1804), aged 17, English stocking maker who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 20th May 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1844 9
Mr. Thomas Boulton, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. William Boulton, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. George Boulton who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Abraham Boulton, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boulton 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:

Boulton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Boulton, who landed in Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand in 1836 aboard the ship Success
E Boulton, who landed in Kapiti, New Zealand in 1837 aboard the ship Samuel Cunnard
Miss Sophia Boulton, (b. 1843), aged 20, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 14
W. Boulton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "India" in 1875 14
George Godfrey Boulton, aged 27, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Halcione" in 1875 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Boulton (post 1700) +

Matthew Boulton (1728-1809), English manufacturer, engineer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt, together they installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines 16
Nate Boulton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 2000 17
Jon Boulton, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Leelanau County Democratic Party, 2007 17
James E. Boulton, American politician, Representative from Wisconsin 5th District, 1966, 1970 17
Harry Boulton, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1908 17
Grace Boulton, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Oklahoma, 1972 17
Alexander Boulton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 2004 17
Clinton William "Clint" Boulton (1948-2021), English professional footballer who played over 506 matches
Marjorie Boulton (1924-2017), British author and poet who wrote in English and Esperanto
Matthew Boulton (1893-1962), English film actor
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Boulton family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Albert Arthur Boulton, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 18

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Denis Duncan Harold Owen Boulton, English 1st Class Passenger originating in Chicago, Illinois, USA returning to Liverpool, England, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 19

The Boulton Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Vi et virtute
Motto Translation: By strength and valour.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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/
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-lyon
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/