Boyden Genealogy, Family Crest, Coat of Arms

I, the webmaster, am directly related to Thomas Boyden who arrived from Ipswich, Suffolk County, England to Massachusetts Bay in 1634 on the “Francis.” I am a member of the 12th generation through my father’s mother. My main purpose for writing this article is that I wanted to add some ideas to the general discussion of Boyden genealogy, that I have not found on the Internet. What was the Boyden family tree prior to 1634?

Download: Thomas Boyden Genealogy 1634 in Massachusetts

Facts:

• During the last Ice Age, most Europeans sought warmer temperatures in Southeastern Europe
• Romans invaded England starting in 43 AD
• Anglo-Saxons eventually conquered England starting in 442 AD
• Mercia was one of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy that ruled England from 527–918
• Vikings invade Northwestern England starting in 850 AD
• Boyden name is Anglo-Saxon in origin and first appears in Bodden, Staffordshire, England prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066
• Staffordshire is within the Mercia territory of power and influence
• Norman conquest of England in 1066 AD
• Bodin was recorded in Domesday Book of 1086
• Boydin de Parco was documented in Suffolk in 1156
• From 1308-1326, William Boyden was employed in erecting The Chapel of the Virgin at the Abbey of St Albans
• There is a village in Suffolk called Boyden

Images:

Arguments:

1) During the Ice Age, most European ancestors were in warmer climate in and around Italy, Greece, Hungary and Romania. When the climate began to warm, these ancestral families began to spread throughout Europe. It is possible to conclude that Boyden ancestors were part of this ancestral stock that was in Southeastern Europe.

2) The Boyden Coat of Arms is a derivative of the St Alban’s Cross and the Mercia Eagle. If you look at the three images above, you will see the Boyden Coat of Arms, St Alban’s Cross and the Mercia Eagle. The black vertical peak on the coat of arms could have been modified and adopted from the cross on the St Alban’s Cross. The other element on the coat of arms looks like a thistle in the same shape and pattern as the Mercia Eagle. Bodden, Staffordshire, is within Mercian territory. William Boyden constructed The Chapel of the Virgin at the Abbey of St Albans. If you combine all these ideas together, it is possible to conclude that William Boyden was part of the Boyden family and that the Boyden family was part of the Mercia regiment.

3) If Boyden is Angle in origin, it is possible to conclude that Boyden ancestors were in Northern Germany and took part in the conquering and settlement of England.

4) If the Boyden family was loyal to the Mercia Regiment, it is possible to conclude that when the Vikings, and later the Normans, invaded England, they were forced south and east away from Staffordshire and towards Suffolk.

5) Thomas Boyden in 1634 was only 21 years old. He was able to afford that expensive trip to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He worked for a wealthy man by the name of William Gilson (one of the founders of the first church and builder of the first windmill). Thomas was admitted into this church in 1635. It is possible to conclude that Thomas Boyden was related to the William Boyden that worked on St Alban’s Abbey, and that both were related to the Boyden clan that supported the Mercia Regiment.

Conclusion:

I understand that my arguments would be difficult to prove through standard research of birth records, etc. However, with modern technology, it is possible to follow the DNA trail. However, I do not have any genetic evidence to work with or any funds to due the proper research. I do think that it is strongly possible that the Boyden ancestors established both Bodden, Staffordshire, and Boyden, Suffolk. The Boyden family was Angle in origin. The Boyden family supported, and was related to, the Mercia regiment. Both William Boyden and Thomas Boyden are part of this Boyden family tree.

Interesting Side Note:

J.R.R. Tolkien is one of many scholars who have studied and promoted the Mercian dialect of Old English, and introduced various Mercian terms – especially in relation to the Kingdom of Rohan, otherwise known as the Mark (Mercia). Not only is the language of Rohan actually represented as the Mercian dialect of Old English, but a number of its kings are given the same names as monarchs who appear in the Mercian royal genealogy (Fréawine, Fréaláf and Éomer).

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