Anne Langton – An Anglican Church Woman in Fenelon Falls
St. James the Apostle Anglican Church, Fenelon Falls
[Miniature sketch of Anne Langton]
Anne Langton – An Anglican Church Woman in Fenelon Falls
[Woman moving across 19th century bedroom]
This is the story of Anne Langton and of her transformation from a privileged Englishwoman to a visionary – hardworking and faithful pioneer. Her story illustrates her power to succeed in very harsh times. Her own physical and psychological transformation even surprised her as [Woman writing in journal] she documented it, in her journal – “A Gentlewoman in Upper Canada.”
[Picture of Langton family] Anne was born in England to a family of means. [Picture of Anne, her mother and siblings] She accompanied her brother John as he travelled through Europe. [Miniature coloured sketch of Anne Langton] As a young woman, she studied the fine art masters of Italy and beyond. Her art ability made her into a very skilled miniaturist painter.
[1833 Passport of John Langton] In 1833, her brother John came to the colonies as a junior barrister. Anne later arrived at the age of 29, with her mother and aunt Alice. [Anne’s sketch of St. James Log Church] Anne’s faith and strength fortified her for the future she had begun. [Picture of John Langton] John would go on to become Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald’s first auditor general.
[Map showing route to Upper Canada] Their passage to Canada wasn’t easy because of illness. Arriving by ship at New York, they travelled north up the Humber River to Albany, through Utica to Syracuse. They then took a horse drawn railway car to Niagara Falls and crossed to the Canadian side by rowboat. Anne’s mother was terrified. They made their way to Queenston, then to Ottawa. A steam packet or ferry took them to Port Hope and on by stagecoach to Rice Lake. John was waiting for them in Peterborough for the final leg of the trip to Sturgeon Lake by way of the Otonabee River.
[Anne’s coloured sketch of Sturgeon Lake with canoe on shore] They then arrived by way of native canoe to Blythe Farm, their new home in the [picture of Blythe Farm barn] rugged Canadian wilderness. There she stayed until 1846 until she returned to England for a series of visits. [Video of woods around Blythe Farm] Upon their arrival on Sturgeon Lake there were only four families north of them.