Although emigration offered the Langtons the opportunity to be reunited with John and to start a new life with some relief from financial pressures, they left England with somewhat heavy hearts. They were not only leaving their home-land, almost probably for good, but also parting with William and Margaret who at that time had three little daughters.

They departed from Liverpool Docks on 24 May 1837. Coincidentally, shipping in the port was dressed overall to mark the coming-of-age of the young Princess Victoria, who would ascend to the throne just six weeks later following the death of William IV.

The Langtons took this rejoicing as a good omen for their bold new venture. They embarked on board the appropriately-named sailing vessel, the "Independence," heading out into the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and away from all that they had known and held dear.

Storms and becalmings, whales and icebergs, the trials of life at sea and the novelties of shipboard diet, accommodation and daily routine, along with the varied "characters" of their fellow-passengers, kept the family amused, frustrated, and entertained, by turns.

Thomas, Ellen and Anne each kept a journal of their sea voyage to New York which, fortunately, for those days, was a very short crossing of just three weeks.

Their journals and letters also tracked their subsequent land journey by coach, rail and ferry from New York to Toronto and on up to the Kawartha Lakes.

This section of their journey would last for almost two months, partly because of Ellen's illnesses in New York and Toronto, Alice's intermittent poor health, and Anne's sickness at Peterborough, but also because of travel delays and other inconveniences.

At New York, the seasoned travellers strolled along Broadway, dined with people to whom they carried letters of introduction (from mutual friends in England), admired the architecture, toured sights, viewed the surrounding scenery and browsed in stores - in one of which Anne stocked up on art materials.

Click to see a larger image (81K)
From the Hotel West Point, looking up the River,
New York, 1837
Anne Langton
Graphite on cream wove paper
Reference Code: F 1077-8-1-4-4
Archives of Ontario, I0008026

These two images and the above "Land View" are from a companion souvenir set of four. Langton often depicted a given location from various viewpoints.

At Niagara, Langton had set out before breakfast to sketch the spectacle of the falls. But, to her great disappointment, she experienced an inability to grasp the scale of the scene before her. She expressed her frustration in a postscript to a letter from her father to William:

Unfortunately, Langton does not appear to have done any sketching between Niagara and Peterborough, partly no doubt, because of caring for Ellen. In Toronto, however, Thomas and Anne did some sightseeing and visiting. They were also invited to dine with the Governor at Government House.

On August 4th, the Langtons finally left Toronto and resumed their journey towards Sturgeon Lake. On reaching Peterborough, Anne fell ill and they were prevented from continuing their journey for another week. She did, however, manage some sketching.

Forty-two years after her first glimpse, Langton could still vividly recall her first impression of the Canadian backwoods at Peterborough which, in 1837, had a population of some 900 inhabitants.