Anne Langton’s Journal on 19th Century Inquiring Minds and World News
St. James the Apostle Anglican Church, Fenelon Falls
[Yellowing sketch of Blythe House in England in 19th century]
The family, the English family, were quite well off. Thomas Langton was in trade and did a lot of trade, I believe, with Russia. He also educated the children in Europe. So Anne’s training as a painter came from Italy. She actually went there and studied, and they learned languages and so on. They were a very well educated and well-traveled family.
What happened was the Napoleonic Wars; which altered everybody’s trade throughout the continent and in Britain as well. I gathered that Thomas Langton’s business fell off and of course he would have been at that point, in his sixties. Starting to get into a retirement age anyway. They were not exactly destitute, or anything like that. But I think they felt there was opportunity in Canada. They seemed to have this sense of adventure and travel. They embraced the opportunity of going out into the new world and especially since the younger son had gone as well, that that was a pull for them to go too.
They were a very educated and well informed little family. As Anne says in her journal, once her father dies, she says, “We really miss his inquiring mind.” He would ask questions in his letters back to England to find out what is going on. They had to wait weeks, months to hear any newspapers that the family in England would send to them. They were months getting to them and often times they didn’t reach them at all. When the Rebellion of Upper Canada happens in 1837, she says, “Well it was all over, even though it took place less than a hundred miles off, before we’d even heard of it.” Really the news did not travel fast in those days and they had to be very patient. Yet she was always interested in what was going on in the world.
She is right on top of it when they hear news of the Queen, Queen Victoria getting married. “Well everyone is talking about the wedding, including the Queen.”
[Photograph of Anne Langton’s traveling iron and case]