The Bowles of Leitrim

The 'Bowles' spelling of the name does not occur commonly in Leitrim until later years.  The earliest references are for Bole or the related Boles surname. 

There was one Catholic Boles family at Gortnacorkage from the mid 1800's well into the 1900's but by far the most extensive Boles family seems to have arrived from Fermanagh in the late 1700's and settled around Fingreagh.  See The Boles of Fingreagh, co. Leitrim

As in the other northern counties, the ancestors  arrived there from England or Scotland possibly as early as the plantation of Ulster in the 1600's.  Leitrim was not part of the plantation but there was an extensive family of Boles not too far away in Cleenish parish in Fermanagh which was planted.  There was an Alexander Boles in Cleenish parish who is recorded in the Fermanagh Poll Book of 1788 as holding land in Fingreagh so there was a connection.  However, the Muster Roll of Fermanagh taken in 1630 documents the plantation families there and while many of the families connected to the Boles of Leitrim were plantation families including the Nixon, Jervis, Johnston, Payne, Pearson, Stewart, Taylor and Trotter families, all of which appear in the Boles family tree below, the Boles do not appear.  They could mean that they arrived from another Irish county in that same period or from England or Scotland in a later period. 

That question has seemingly recently been answered by the Bowles DNA project which has found a DNA match between the Boles of Fingreagh and the Lord Boyles of Kelburn, Ayshire, Scotland.  See The Boles of Fingreagh, co. Leitrim and The Boles of Fingreagh Results In The Bowles DNA Project

The Boles of Gortnacorkoge, Killarga parish

The Griffith Valuation of Leitrim in 1856 lists a James Boles holding two lots at Gortnacorkoge.  The 1901 and 1911 censuses fill in the family a little bit.  I have not yet researched the family beyond that.

m.(2) Michael Gilroy of Drumkeel (b. ca. 1842; James) Feb. 25, 1868 Drumlease RC Chapel

1.1 Patrick Boles b. Mar. 7, 1889 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist

1.2  John Boles b. Sept. 24, 1890 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist

1.3  Francis Boles b. Aug. 25, 1892 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist

1.4  Mary Anne Boles b. Oct. 1, 1895 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist

1.5  James Boles b. Apr. 9, 1898 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist.

1.6  Thomas Boles b. Dec. 28, 1900 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist.

1.7  Elizabeth (Lizzie) Boles b. Aug. 7, 1902 Gortnacorkage, Dromahair reg. dist.

2.  Bridget Boles b. Dec. 19, 1864 Dromahair, co. Leitrim

m. Patrick Higgins of Kilmore (Patrick Sr. deceased) Feb. 13, 1888 Killargue RC church

m. James McTernan of Killargue (b. ca. 1847; Far...) Feb. 1, 1877 Killargue RC Chapel

1.  James Boles of the parish of Riverstown and Sooey, co. Sligo m. Elizabeth Hyland of Bohey a minor (Patrick, living) Jan. 23, 1879 Killanummery and Killery RC Chapel in Dromahair Reg. Dist.

 There is one early reference for a John Bole at Mohill in South co. Leitrim from 1727 ref. but I could not find any later references in that area.