Rozier

Recorded as Rosier, Rossier, Rozea, Rozia, Rozzier, and others, this is often a 17th century Huguenot Protestant refugee surname in the British Isles. Whatever the date it is of French origins. It is said to have been originally recorded in the provinces of Languedoc, Forez and Auvergne, the principle coat of arms being a canting, in that the blazon represents the surname and being a blue shield charged with a gold chevron between three silver roses. The surname is probably occupational and originally given to a grower of roses. Rose petals were widely used in the medieval period for medicinal purposes, as well as for perfume and textile dyes. The Huguenots fleeing Roman Catholic persecution in Europe, started to enter Britain from about 1580, but it was not until the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 that the trickle became a flood. The loss to France in particular was enormous as many of the refugees were amongst the most skilled artisans in Europe. Early examples of recordings include Bartholomew Rosier at the church of St Martin Pomeroy in the city of London, on April 14th 1638, James Roszier at St Dunstans Stepney, on August 19th 1804, and earlier Jean Rosier de Magnieu, dated 1680 in Forez, France. This was during the reign of King Louis X1Vth and known as "The Sun King", 1643-1715. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.