b. 1825
d. 1895-11
Alfred James Langley sat on the Legislative Council of
Vancouver Island, ran a local drug store, and conducted real estate investments. He often partnered
with his brother,
Alfred John Langley, in his business ventures.
1
Born in Staffordshire, England, circa
1825, Langley journeyed to
Nova Scotia as a young man with his brother. They later moved to New York, followed by a stint
in California during the gold rush.
2 With their brother Charles, they opened a drug store in
San Francisco. Charles remained in
San Francisco when
John and James moved to
Victoria, where they established a new drug and retail store, called Langley & co.
3
James married Anna “Annie” Maria Thain, a
New Brunswicker, in
1861. They had three children together.
4 In
1863, when the council of
Vancouver Island was split into legislative and executive branches, Governor
Douglas appointed James Langley to the Legislative Council.
5
James died in Victoria during
November 1895.
Victoria’s Langley Street bears his surname, and two houses he and his brother financed still
stand, protected by the Victoria Heritage Foundation.
6
- 1. Douglas to Newcastle, 23 July 1863, 9248, CO 305/20, p. 270; Donald Luxton, 1133 Fort St, Victoria Heritage Foundation.
- 2. J. F. Bosher, Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950 (Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation, 2010), 420.
- 3. D. Humphreys, On the Street Where You Live: Victoria's Early Roads and Railways (Victoria: Heritage Publishing House, 2000), 52-54.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. Douglas to Newcastle, 23 July 1863, 9248, CO 305/20, p. 270.
- 6. Humphreys, On the Street Where You Live; Luxton, 1133 Fort St.