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Toure is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Toure family lived in Lancashire. Tower indicates that the original bearer lived in the tower of a castle. 1 In Normandy, the name was originally "De Tours, [having] descended from the Umfrevilles of Normandy, Barons of Prudhoe." 2 3
The surname Toure was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from ancient times, and were the Lords of the manor of Lowick or Lofwick. William of Tours accompanied William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, and was granted estates under tenant in Chief, the Baron of Kendall. Some branches of this distinguished line remained in Lancashire, while others branched south to Sowerby in Lincolnshire, and Isle of Ely. Others of this family adopted the name Lowick and Lofwick and remained in Lancashire.
"William de Lancaster, first Baron of Kendal, granted certain lands here, temp. Henry II., to the Towers family, who conveyed them to the Lofwics in the reign of John. The estate was held by the Lofwics until it passed by marriage, in the reign of Henry VI." 4
Gilbert le Tower was one of the first entries for the family in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Toure research. Another 199 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1352, 1423, 1457, 1462, 1508, 1558, 1605, 1633, 1640 and 1649 are included under the topic Early Toure History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Tower, Towers, Toure, Toures, Lowick, Lofwick and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Toure Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Toure is the 7,190th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 7
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Toure or a variant listed above were: Joane Tower who settled in Virginia in 1670; John Tower settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1637; John Tower settled in New England with five children in 1641.