My great-grandfather Louis Bolan of Gros Cap, Mi 1860-1958, a fisherman, and the son of a successful fisherman...the Bolan name seems to be a phonetic adjustment to the french "Bolin", or perhaps "Beaulin" pronounced Bol`an.there are records of earlier "Boland" individuals in the St Ignace area, as well.
Louis was never schooled. Following his loss at sea of all 8 older brothers and his mother's death soon after, he never learned to read. His oral recounting was detailed and rich, but huge information gaps remain (eg:he always refered to his parents as Mother and Father--while my mother, no doubt, knew their names, they were not mentioned to me.) I do remember that his grandmother's maiden name was Downy.
but the language spoken at home was french, even with the Fenlon, O'Malley, Chambers and Rhoades names that wind through it.
In a way it does look like Nolan or Dolan, but our Bolans are all of french and native indian (ottawa) extraction.They are interred on ancient indian burial grounds in Gros Cap.
I hope this all means something to you.
Kathryn