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A Classification of American Wealth |
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Part I-Chapter 2 : Planter Aristocrats > The Langhornes : « Previous 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Next » |
The
Langhornes - A First Family of Virginia
Due to the destruction of a large number of Warwick County records during the Civil War, all that is known of Captain John Langhorne, is that he was a powerful and influential man. Upon his arrival in Virginia, John Langhorne purchased 1,300 acres from William Whitby, Jr. who was a Burgess for Warwick County. To this he later added 700 acres, which was acquired by a royal grant through the importation of indentured servants. As the most densely populated, and hence the most civilized and desirable county in Virginia, Warwick was an excellent location for John Langhorne to build his fortune. His 2,000-acre plantation was one of the largest in the lower Tidewater region. Among the larger planters of his day, John Langhorne traded his tobacco directly with the mother country for a hefty profit. He also handled shipments for the smaller planters who could not afford direct trade with England. By the mid 1670's John Langhorne had been appointed with Col. William Byrd I and Maj. Robert Beverley to fortify the three main rivers of Virginia. The coveted assignment proved to be very lucrative, and over the next several years, the House of Burgesses recorded many payments to John Langhorne, the largest of which amounted to 90,000 pounds of tobacco. At a time when most of the modest Virginia farmers made their living off of little more than 1,000 pounds of tobacco annually, this was an incredible sum. John Langhorne, William Byrd, and Robert Beverley were not soldiers themselves, rather they were assigned to oversee the construction and operation of the essential forts. On the heels of his success with the York River Fort, John Langhorne was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1680, thus establishing a tradition of political service that would characterize his prominent descendents. The
ancestral home of the Langhorne family St. Brides House was once described
as the most impressive private home in all of Wales. Accordingly, John
Langhorne of Virginia built his family an elegant family seat. This famed
colonial home (which burned circa 1818) was overlooking James River along
with the primary plantation tract of 2,000 acres and became known as "Gambell". This page about the Langhorne family of Virginia was researched and written by Thomas Litten of Richmond, Va. Thank you Thomas, for your kind contribution to A Classification of American Wealth. Planter Aristocrats > The Langhornes : « Previous 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Next » |
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