Tozer surname

"A Tozer was a man who teased the cloth with a tease". ["The Romance of Names" by Prof. Ernest Weekly M.A. 1914, page 170] Tozer is a surname commonly believed to have originated in Devon, South West England. Presently the earliest known recording of the name is the March 8, 1417, when Reginald Tozer received letters as a Sub Deacon from the Bishop of Exeter in Devon, England.1.

The Tozers of Moreton Hampstead

Moreton Hampstead in Devon, England is considered to be the original Tozer homestead. Although this can not be proved beyond doubt all the evidence suggest this to be correct.

"About the middle of the fifteenth century a family of the name was settled in Moreton Hamstead, a small market town near the eastern confines of Dartmoor. Situated on a fertile and salubrious eminence it is encompassed by lofty hills. It is twelve miles W.S.W. of Exeter. It had formerly a share of the woolen industry which declined many years ago."Reference--History of Devonshire by R.N. North (1886)p.320/321.

The earliest discovered reference to the Tozers of Moreton Hampstead is in 1478. In this year, John Tozer was plaintiff in a Chancery Suit concerning certain lands called Howghton in the manor of Moreton Hampstead. He claimed that his father, William Tozer, was seized of these lands, and that he was the son and heir of the said William. [Public Record Office. C.1/56/207.]

The farm of Houghton (now Howton, with the main residence "Great Howton" still a functioning house) remained in the family until the 20th century. In the churchyard at Moreton Hampstead, there is a stone with this inscription:"Charles Tozer late of Howton in Moreton died February 27, 1808 aged 29 also of his children, William born October 20, 1808, died at Exeter February 28, 1892.

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