 He married twice, in 1868 at Ipswich to Mary Hoyles Wilson (who died in Ipswich in 1878), and in 1880 to Louisa Lord (who died in London in 1908).In the 1871 election held on 13 July, the sitting member for Wide Bay in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, Henry Edward King, decided to contest the electoral district of Maryborough instead of Wide Bay.King supported the nomination of Horace Tozer for Wide Bay, amidst allegations that Tozer was just a "warming pan" intended to hold the seat as a protection against King failing to win Maryborough.