Langstaff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Langstaff arrived in North America very early:

Langstaff Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Henry Langstaff, who settled in New Hampshire in 1630
• Henry Langstaff, who arrived in New England in 1631 6

Langstaff Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Mrs. Lillie Langstaff, (b. 1881), aged 21, Cornish settler, from Penzance, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Etruria" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 28th September 1902 en route to Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, USA 7

Langstaff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mr. Thomas Langstaff, English convict who was convicted in Durham, England for life, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8

• John Langstaff (1774-1865), American settler to Canada who arrived sometime between 1803 to 1808 from Piscataway, Middlesex, New Jersey and founded Langstaff, a former hamlet in an area now known as Richmond Hill
• John Langstaff (1920-2005), American concert baritone, and early music revivalist
• Robert Langstaff (b. 1952), Canadian retired professional hockey player
• Annie MacDonald Langstaff (1887-1975), Canadian law student, legal activist, supporter of women's suffrage and an early woman aviator, born in Alexandria, Ontario, she enrolled at McGill University in 1911, graduating three years later as a Bachelor of Civil Law, but on applying to the Bar of Montreal to practice, she was refused the right to take the examination; she was posthumously admitted to the Montreal Bar in 2006
• Sir Brian Frederick James Langstaff (b. 1948), British jurist, styled The Hon. Mr Justice Langstaff, a judge of the High Court of England and Wales (2005-2018)
• James Miles Langstaff (1825-1889), Canadian reeve of Richmond Hill, Ontario, born in Richmond Hill in an area then known as Langstaff Corners.
• James Henry Langstaff (b. 1956), British Anglican retired bishop, he served as Bishop of Rochester from 2010-2021
• Susan Langstaff Mitchell (1866-1926), Irish writer and poet, known for her satirical verse
• James Langstaff Bowman (1879-1951), PC Canadian politician, the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba (1935-1936)