Langley, Alfred John
b. 1821
Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 1821, Alfred John Langley was appointed to the council of Vancouver Island in 1861.1 He became a prominent resident of Victoria, running a local drug store and investing in real estate.2 He also represented Vancouver Island at the 1862 London world exhibition.3
When he first came to North America, Langley resided in Nova Scotia, followed by New York. He moved to California with his brother, Alfred James Langley, in 1849, and they established a pharmaceutical company. The brothers moved to Victoria in 1858 and opened another drug store, Langley & co. Their shop, located on Yates Street, supplied medicines, paints, and window glass.4
In 1861, Governor Douglas appointed Alfred John Langley to the Legislative Council.5 In 1862, Langley returned to England to wed Mary Edwin. Douglas took advantage of Langley’s already-planned trip and appointed him a seat on Vancouver Island’s commission for the 1862 International Exhibition in London, describing him as a man of business, a large property holder, and well acquainted with the resources of the Colony.6
While in England, Langley published A Glance at British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island in 1861. Focusing mainly on the known geography and broad economics of the area, Langley slipped in a touch of his personal philosophy concerning work ethics. He remarked that men not expecting to make their fortunes at once… are the most likely to succeed. He further stated that feeling contented with little assists a man, and that when others heard the amount of money he’d saved by the end of the season by being frugal, they would call him lucky.7
Langley later returned to Vancouver Island, and, during the 1870s, worked on the Board of Education and was Justice of the Peace for Vancouver Island. In 1887, Langley constructed a two-storey house on Fort Street to increase his revenue; his son, William Henry Langley, lived there from 1900 to 1909. The house still stands on 1133 Fort Street, Victoria, and is protected by the Victoria Heritage Foundation.8
  • 1. Douglas to Newcastle, 14 February 1861, 3648, CO 305/17, p. 79.
  • 2. Donald Luxton, 1133 Fort Street, Victoria Heritage Foundation.
  • 3. Douglas to Newcastle, 14 November 1861, 412, CO 305/17, p. 521.
  • 4. Luxton, 1133 Fort Street, Victoria Heritage Foundation.
  • 5. Douglas to Newcastle, 14 February 1861, 3648, CO 305/17, p. 79.
  • 6. Douglas to Newcastle, 14 November 1861, 412, CO 305/17, p. 521.
  • 7. Langley, Alfred John.A Glance at British Columbia and Vancouver's Island in 1861. (London: Robert Hardwicke, 1862), 44.
  • 8. Luxton, 1133 Fort Street.
Mentions of this person in the documents
People in this document

Douglas, Sir James

Langley, Alfred James

Places in this document

Nova Scotia

Vancouver Island

Victoria

The Colonial Despatches Team. Langley, Alfred John. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/langley_ajohn.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)