The Bosley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,216 people carried this name — #4,881 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 6,898 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

13 families named Bosley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 113 people lived in those households, 8.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 12
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 230 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Bosley in American newspapers,
1893–1922.

Newspaper page from The Sioux County Journal carrying the name Bosley
The Sioux County Journal 1893-04-20
Newspaper page from East St. Louis Daily Journal carrying the name Bosley
East St. Louis Daily Journal 1922-10-06
Newspaper page from East St. Louis Daily Journal carrying the name Bosley
East St. Louis Daily Journal 1922-10-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,202 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bosley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

2,378 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bosley. The most, 663, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 706
South Australia 664
Victoria 549
Western Australia 225
Queensland 186
Tasmania 33
ACT (Canberra) 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bosley.

Who carried it

People named Bosley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles B. Bosley
    Charles B. Bosley 1888–1959 · lawyer
  • Tom Bosley
    Tom Bosley 1927–2010 · actor
  • John Bosley
    John Bosley 1947–2022 · politician
  • Marquita Bosley d. 2009
  • Marcus Bosley 1897–1982 · cricketer
  • Bruce Bosley 1933–1995 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bosley,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States434 records

434 records of the Bosley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 249
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 94
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 28
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 26
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 19
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 17
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harry Bosley

    Born 1913 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; driver from Shelby County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Gilbert Bosley

    Born 1946; from New Creek, West Virginia. U.S. Army, helicopter pilot; died in an accident 1967 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Agnes Bosley

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Princeton from Liverpool, aged 35; domestic. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 434 records for Bosley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia76 records

76 records of the Bosley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 51
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 9
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Bosley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Burrell, arriving 1830; ticket of leave 1847.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Bosley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Yorkshire, aged 7; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Leonard Frederick Joseph Bosley

    Waterside worker of Williamstown, Victoria; died 1961.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 76 records for Bosley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Bosley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 9
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Arthur John Bosley

    Will proved in 1928; of Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Bosley

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Rose Ann Bosley

    Will proved in 1924; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Bosley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Bosley name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Kathleen Olive Bosley

    Died 2001; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Abraham Bosley

    Listed at Annapolis, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1794.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harry Lewis William Bosley

    Died 1932; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bosley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bosley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Bosley volume
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