Origin of Surname
The name Boleat is Breton for ringer of bells.
About 900 Boleats [1] have been identified by the Boleat Family History Study [1]. Most belong to a single family originating in Plufur in inland Brittany and spreading to Jersey in the 1870s and to the rest of France a little later.
Distribution
Three separate families have been identified in Brittany, although they may be related and are fairly close geographically. The approximate numbers identified for each branch are –
- Plufur, 780
- Brélévenez, 80
- Garlan, 40
- Total 900 [2]
In addition a separate family with about 50 Boleats [3] existed in the Rhône-Alpes, around Bourg-en-Bresse, between 1550 and 1730.
Two brothers from the Plufur branch moved to Jersey in around 1875 and about 70 of the 780 identified members of the Plufur branch have been born in Jersey, and a further four, descended from one of the brothers, in Australia. More generally, the family that originated in Plufur is now widespread throughout France. In Brittany, the main concentration has moved to Brest.
Occupations
Until the late 19th century the Boleat family were manual workers, mainly in agriculture. There were exceptions. Gabriel and Claude Boleat, sons of Jean Boleat, born in Guerlesquin in 1802, were clergymen. Another brother, Jean Boleat, was awarded the Military Medal for service in Mexico in 1862. Jules Boleat, probably a nephew of the brothers, became a Professor at the Petit-Séminaire Pont Croix, near Quimper.
The separate Boleat family in the Rhone-Alpes, almost certainly unconnected with the Plufur family, was more distinguished, occupying public office in the Duchy of Savoy.
Key dates
The key dates in the family history are –
- c1540 - Antoine Boleat born in the Rhône-Alpes
- c1560 - Nicolas Boleat born in Plouaret, Brittany
- c1570 - Philip Boleat born, probably in Garlan, Brittany
- 1576 - Antoine Boleat was “Avocat Fiscal” in Bourg-en-Bresse, Rhône-Alpes
- 1656 - Yvon Boleat, direct ascendant of today’s Boleats, born in Plufur, Brittany
- 1700 - Around 35 Boleats
- 1800 - Between 40 and 50 Boleats
- c1875 - Yves and Joseph Boleat moved from Brittany to Jersey
- c1895 - Francois Marie Boleat and Marie Francoise Boleat moved from Brittany to Paris
- 1900 - Around 50 Boleats, 40 in France and 10 in Jersey
- 1912 - Yves Boleat (son of Yves, above) moved from Jersey to Australia
- 2010 - About 300 Boleats, 80% in France, and all but a few of the rest in Jersey
Jersey
The Jersey branch of the family are direct descendants of Yvon (1656), François (1691), François (1732), Jean (1774) and Yves Marie (1818). Yves Marie married Jeanne Auffret in 1844 in Plouaret. They had nine children: François Marie (1845, Plouaret), Jean (1848, Ploumilliau), Guillaume Marie (1851, Ploumilliau), Yves Marie (1853, Trégrom), Jeanne Marie (1855, Trégrom), Yves Marie (1857, Trégrom), Marie Françoise (1860, Ploubezre), Anne Marie (1862, Ploubezre) and Joseph Marie (1864, Ploubezre).
The Yves Marie born in 1853 moved to Jersey in April 1875. In 1883 he married Augustine Desirée Marceline LHermitte, born in Jersey in 1862, the year after her parents arrived in the island from St Sauveur le Vicomte in Normandy. Augustine was the daughter of François Victor LHermitte and Augustine Victorine Marie La Hougue.
Yves
Yves and Augustine had five children -
- Marie Augustine Josephine, born in 1884 (the first Boleat to be born outside France) who married George Louis Brown. They had four children.
- Yves Pelage Charles, born in 1888. He emigrated to Australia in 1912, married Nellie Collas and died in 1945. They had three children.
- Charles Emile François, born in 1889, who died at the age of 40. He married Lily Evan. They had no children.
- Emile Joseph Louis, born in 1893, who died in 1970. Emile married Cecile Hélène Samson. Cecile’s father was from France while her mother was descended from the long established Du Feu family in Jersey. Emile and Cecile had seven children. One daughter moved to England but the other children remained in Jersey as do most of their children.
- John Ernest, born in 1895, who died in 1949. He married Lizzie Tolcher (known as Emmie); they had one daughter.
Yves’s younger brother, Joseph Marie, moved to Jersey between 1877 and 1881. The fact that he was recorded in the 1881 Jersey Census means that he arrived in Jersey before the age of 16. He was described as a farm servant at the Marsh Farm, Grouville. Joseph married Augustine Guyomard in 1887. Augustine was probably born Marie Joseph Guyomard in Plouézec in 1868. However, the marriage records her name as Guilhomer and other documents give the name as Guillaumare, Guilhomer and Guillemard.
Joseph
Joseph and Josephine had three children –
- Josephine Marie, born in 1888 who married Arthur Brown, the brother of George Brown who married her cousin Marie.
- Louise Jeanne, born in 1889 who married George Le Cornu. They had two children.
- Joseph Pierre, born in 1891, who married Augustine Adele Alexandrine Le Mouton. They had three children who stayed in Jersey as have their children.
DNA Study
A DNA test suggests that the Boleat family originated in Turkey, migration to Europe occurring about 5,000 years ago.
Variants
- Boléat
- Bolleat
- Le Boleat
Family records
Family histories
Family trees
Great War service
Occupation records
Family wills
These wills created by members of the Boleat family are now held by Jersey Archive. By visiting the archive site and using the names, dates and reference numbers shown here, it is possible to view a copy of each will. You will have to subscribe to the Archive's online service to do this. To find out more about this collection, which covers the period from 1663 to 1980, and how to search for your family's wills there, visit our Jersey wills page
- Boleat : Emile Joseph Louis , of Auburn House, Beaumont, St Peter and formerly of 19, Pre du Talbot, St Saviour - 25/Jun/1970 , 20/Oct/1970 , D/Y/B1/150/49
- Boleat : John Ernest , of Le Hocq Hotel, St Clement - 10/Dec/1931 , 16/Jan/1950 , D/Y/B1/3/49
- Boleat : Joseph Pierre , son of Joseph, of St Martin - 04/Feb/1922 , 19/Mar/1952 , D/Y/B1/13/49
- Boleat : Josephine M , of Ashton House, St Clement - 09/Dec/1952 , 24/Jan/1961 , D/Y/B1/62/57
- Boleat : Josephine Marie , widow of Arthur Charles Brown, of 4, Mabel Place, First Tower, St Helier - 11/Jan/1961 , 31/Jan/1967 , D/Y/B1/104/46
- Boleat : Yvon , Vingtaine du Roquier, St Clement - 18/Jun/1897 , 14/Mar/1917 , D/Y/A/76/42