Boswell

The name Boswell is an Anglicization of the name of a French village: Boseville (Beuzeville). This was a village of 1400 inhabitants near Yvetot, in Normandy. (from 'A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames', by Charles W. Bardsley, New York, 1901).

The name was established in England in the 11th Century by a gentleman, Sieure de Boseville (Christian name, Martin), who landed in England from France on September 28, 1066 with William the Conqueror. He held a command at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. He died in 1122 at the Manor of Crawford in Buckinghamshire.

The great grandson of the original Sieure, Robert de Boseville, went to Scotland with King William, the Lion. He was in the King’s service and granted lands at Oxmuir in the Merse in about 1153. (This information comes from resources held at Balmuto Castle, Kirkaldy, Fife, Scotland)

Over the years the Boseville name has been Anglicized in many different forms including: Boswell, Bozwell, Bozell, Boswall, Bosuall, Buswell, Buzzell, Bosell, and Bossell. In the end, most all these people can be traced to the original Sieure.