The Boulter family of Cambridgeshire

My Boulter family research somewhat disappointingly only reaches back to 1775 when my 6x Great Grandparents William Bolter and his wife Sarah take their daughter Mary Boulter to be baptised at St. Peter's Church at the fenland village of Wilburton in Cambridgeshire, England.

Their youngest child was my 5x Great Grandfather William Boulter, who was their second son to bear that name.

William married Ann Covell at St. Peter's Church at the neighbouring village of Wentworth, where they set up home, and take the Boulter surname for a few generations.

The couple would go on to become parents four times, before agricultural labourer William died in 1849.

His second son, and my 3x Great Grandfather, was Robert Boulter gave me my second ancestral link to the Moden family when he married by 3x Great Grandmother Mary Ann Moden in 1852.

Origins of the Boulter surname

In the earlier part of my research into this family name, a few leads led me to look towards Wales, but whilst there were a few name-holders there, I could not find any evidence of a link.

According to some 1891 census data crunched by Ancestry.co.uk, there is evidence that shows that Leicestershire and London, England both have the highest concentration of Boulter families at this point. Cambridgeshire sits with 21 Boulters - in the second lowest grouping, with neighbouring Norfolk showing a higher volume, and other neighbour Bedfordshire showing amongst the lowest. Just ten years earlier, there were only 10 Boulters registered on the census for Cambridgeshire, and 7 of those were definitely related.

So where do my Boulter genes come from?

My research continues, with the records I've viewed so far, failing to see them leave the village of Wentworth, Cambridgeshire, since 1815. However, the Internet Surname Database suggests that the surname may be of Medieval origins, so I may have further to research back to until I find an answer.

Variants of the Boulter surname

Throughout my research, I've seen a few different variations for the Boulter surname, including:

  • Boulter
  • Bolter
  • Boutall
  • Bowlter

Boulter family connections

I have found that the Boulter family is directly connected to a few of my ancestral families so far: