Chiswell Langhorne

Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (November 4, 1843 – February 14, 1919) was an American railroad industrialist. He was the father of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and Michael Langhorne Astor.[1]

Chiswell Dabney Langhorne
Born(1843-11-04)November 4, 1843
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 14, 1919(1919-02-14) (aged 75)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
OccupationAuctioneer, Industrialist
Spouse(s)
Nancy Witcher Keene
​
​
(m. 1864; died 1903)​
Children11, including Nancy
Parent(s)John Scarsbrook Langhorne
Sarah Elizabeth Dabney
RelativesHenry Scarsbrook Langhorne (grandfather)

Early life

Langhorne was born on November 4, 1843 in Lynchburg, Virginia at Point of Honor. He was the eldest son of John Scarsbrook Langhorne and Sarah Elizabeth (née Dabney) Langhorne.

His father inherited Langhorne Mills in Lynchburg along with the bulk of his father Henry's property. His maternal family owned the Edgemont plantation.[2] The family were wealthy planters and slave-owners before the American Civil War.[3] The Confederate General Jeb Stuart was a relative.

The Langhorne family lived in greatly reduced circumstances after the war. But, during the next quarter century, "Chilly" made a new fortune working first in the tobacco auctioneering business and then in railroads.[3]

Career

As a young man, Langhorne served briefly in the Confederate Army before being discharged for disability in October 1861. Soon after the Civil War, he moved to Danville, Virginia, a major center for bright leaf tobacco. The sale of loose-leaf tobacco by auction on a warehouse floor had originated there just before the Civil War. The practice, which was called the "Danville System", was quickly and widely adopted. It is said that Langhorne originated the auctioneer's fast-talking "chant," which proved very effective at evoking a heightened sense of bidding, and was also copied everywhere.[4]

Through the influence of his wartime commanding officer, he landed a construction contract with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. This was the start of his building a railroad fortune.[5]

Personal life
Langhorne's wife, Nancy Witcher Keene.
Langhorne's daughter, Nancy, Lady Astor.

In 1864, while the Civil War was still in progress, Langhorne married sixteen-year-old Nancy Witcher "Nanaire" Keene (1848–1903). Together, they had a total of eleven children; eight of whom survived childhood (three children, John, Mary, and Chiswell Jr., were born and died in infancy between 1870 and 1872), including:[6]

  • Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dabney Langhorne (1867–1914), who married Thomas Moncure Perkins.
  • Elisha Keene Langhorne (1869–1916), who married Sadie Reynolds. After his death, she married Perkins Ellis.
  • Irene Langhorne (1873–1956), who married to American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the "Gibson Girl", an iconic image of the early 20th century, and later owner of Life magazine.
  • Harry Langhorne (1874–1907), who married to Genevieve Peyton.
  • Nancy Langhorne (1879–1964), who married Robert Gould Shaw II. They divorced and she remarried to Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, eldest son of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor and Mary Dahlgren Paul.[7]
  • Phyllis Langhorne (1880—1937), who married Robert Brand, 1st Baron Brand.
  • William "Buck" Henry Langhorne (1886–1938), who married Edith Forsyth.
  • Nora Langhorne (1889—1955), who married British architect Paul Phipps (1880–1953) and, later, Maurice Flynn.

In 1885, by which time they had at least six surviving children, he moved his family to Richmond. By 1892, he had installed his family at Mirador, a colonnaded house in Albemarle County, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Langhorne died on February 14, 1919 in Richmond, Virginia following an illness of several weeks.[8] He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond. In 2006, the Langhorne House in Danville was listed under the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Virginia.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Lizzie, he was the grandfather of Nancy Lancaster (née Nancy Keene Perkins),[9] who married three times (including to Ronald Tree and Claude Lancaster) and became a noted interior decorator.[10] Through daughter Irene, he was the grandfather of Irene Langhorne Gibson (wife of John J. Emery)[11] and Langhorne Gibson.[12]

Through her daughter Nancy, he was the grandfather of Robert Gould Shaw III, William Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor, Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor, Francis David Langhorne Astor, Michael Langhorne Astor, and John Jacob Astor VII.

Through his youngest daughter Nora, he was the grandfather of Joyce Irene Phipps, who became an actress/comedian, and Thomas Wilton Phipps, a scriptwriter.

References
  1. James Fox (2000). Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia. ISBN 0-684-80812-9.
  2. Speight, John F. "Genealogy Data Page 850". speightfamily.net. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  3. Langhorne, James Callaway (2013). The Virginia Langhornes. Lynchburg, Virginia: Blackwell Press. ISBN 978-1-938205-10-1.
  4. Fox, James (2001). Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia. Simon and Schuster. p. 11. ISBN 9780743217002. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  5. "A Guide to the Papers of the Langhorne Family, 1899-1984 Langhorne Family, Papers, 1899-1984 10758". ead.lib.virginia.edu. University of Virginia Library. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  6. Schiff, Stacy (19 March 2000). "Otherwise Engaged". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  7. "Lady Astor Dies; Sat in Commons" (PDF). The New York Times. 3 May 1964. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  8. "C. B. LANGHORNE DEAD. Father of Famous Langhorne Sisters Succumbs at 75 Years" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 February 1919. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  9. Owens, Mitchell (22 August 1994). "Nancy Lancaster, 96, a Leader In Interior and Garden Design". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  10. Seebohm, Caroline (25 February 1996). "Designing Creature". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  11. "Mrs. John J. Emery". The New York Times. 2 August 1973. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  12. "Langhorne Gibson, 82 Writer and Artist's Son". The New York Times. 12 July 1982. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
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