Question
Does James Boswell have any relation to the village St Boswells?
Answer
The village of St Boswells lies on the River Tweed close to the similarly named Newtown St Boswells. It is on the St Cuthbert's Way long-distance trail linking the now ruined Melrose Abbey with the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
It has no relation to James Boswell or the Boswell family, however. The village is named after St. Boisil (d. 664), abbot of Melrose Abbey and teacher of the better-known St. Cuthbert. The Boswell family name, however, can trace its origins to a Robert, Sieur de Bossuille, a Norman who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066.