Edward Langtry (1847–1897) married Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on the island of Jersey in 1874. She later took to the stage as actress Lillie Langtry, and became involved in a relationship with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Langtry and his wife eventually separated and she obtained a divorce in 1897. Langtry died from a brain haemorrhage in the same year after a fall during a steamer crossing from Belfast to Liverpool.
There have been numerous biographies about Lillie Langtry (she also wrote her own autobiography), but little has been written about her first husband Edward (Ned) Langtry. What has been written often paints him in a negative light. He has been referred to as "a colourless sportsman"; "a pudgy chap, his weak mouth overhung with a walrus moustache, and his conversation powers were limited"; "petulantly determined on his own importance......he was weak and indolent and also, surprisingly shy"; "a meek, weak husband and no money"; "uneasily complaisant husband".
If these descriptions are accurate, it is difficult to understand why a woman as gifted as Lillie would marry a man with such shortcomings. In her memoirs The Days I Knew she explains that Edward Langtry was an extremely shy person, and had spent his life since leaving Oxford in outdoor country sports. In London he felt "quite like a fish out of water" and this may explain his difficulty in conversation and his lack of social grace, and possibly why so many people had such a poor opinion of him. In 1877 Edward and Lillie spent a month in the Perth area of Scotland as the guests of Effie and John Everett Millais. It was here that Edward was at his most relaxed, salmon fishing with Millais, and appeased with the absence of crowds. A vacation later described by Lillie as a "delightful month".
Some conflicting information about Edward Langtry life originated in Lillie Langtry's memoirs. In this she claims that Edward's father started the steam ship crossings between Belfast and Scotland, whereas these were started by his grandfather, George Langtry. She also wrote that when they married he was about thirty years of age although he was actually twenty-six.
Family background
Edward's grandfather George Langtry Langtry lived the life of a gentleman on the money that came from the mercantile and shipping business created by his grandfather, George Langtry (1764–1846). He had opened a general store in Belfast in Ulster in about 1786 and later organised a shipping line between Belfast and England, both for cargo and passengers. The early crossings were under sail, but later steam powered ships were used and Langtry commissioned the first steam ship to be built in Ireland called Belfast. The mercantile business was initially named George Langtry & Co. and from about 1828 the shipping company became Langtrys & Herdman, under the management of William Herdman (1777–1855), plus two of George's sons - Robert and George Jr. In about 1810, George Sr. purchased a large house and grounds on the northern outskirts of Belfast called Fortwilliam. This remained the family home until about 1858, when the mansion and 161 acres were sold for housing development. Another large estate they held was Drumaderragh House, near Ballyclare in County Antrim. This was sold in about 1900 and is now the residence of Lord Glentoran.
In 1794, George married Fanny Callwell (1772–1825), whose Ulster-Scots family had arrived in Ireland from Scotland at the beginning of the 17th century as part of the Plantation of Ulster. Her mother was Catherine Magee, sister of printer, publisher and Belfast book seller, James Magee (c. 1707–1797).
Edward's parents Edward Langtry was born in County Antrim in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, on 14 February 1847. His mother was Eliza Ray (1825-1854) and his father Robert Langtry (1800–1855), who was the eldest son of George Langty Sr. When old enough, Robert entered the family mercantile and shipping business, but he also had outside interests in natural history, horticulture and yachting. He recorded observations from the environment and passed these on to his cousin, naturalist William Thompson, with any specimen he felt were of interest. Robert's brother Richard (1810-1858) also helped and many of their contributions were credited in Thompson's Natural History of Ireland vols. 1 to 4. Robert's love of gardening was reflected in horticultural society competitions he entered with his plants, cut flowers, vegetable and fruit, often getting first or second prizes.
In 1848/49 changes occurred in the family business. George Sr. had died in 1846 and Robert's brother George Jr. died in 1849. Robert left the Belfast home and moved with his family to "a charming reed-thatched Regency pavilion" called Ardimersey Cottage on Islay, the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. At the time of the move Robert and Eliza had two children, daughter Emily (1846–1896), and Edward. Two other children were later born in Scotland: Ida (1849–1919) who was born in Troon and Fanny (1850–1888) born on Islay; both girls were baptised on Islay.
Islay was owned by Walter Frederick Campbell, but he became bankrupt and the management of the island was placed in the hands of John Ramsay, who was a distiller, merchant and politician. A buyer for the island was eventually found in 1853, who was wealthy businessman James Morrison. He had an agreement with Ramsay that he would sell a section of Islay to him including the cottage and land where the Langtry family were living. Some years later Ramsey made Ardimersey Cottage his home.
This move of the Langtry family from Belfast to Islay coincided with the Irish Great Famine that devastated many parts of Ireland between 1845 and 1851. During this period the population of the country fell by nearly 20%, although the loss in Co. Antrim was slightly lower at 15%. Many of the malnourished people travelling to Belfast in search of shelter, food and employment were afflicted with diseases such as dysentery, relapsing fever and typhus. This led to a major outbreak of typus in Belfast and it was estimated that 1 in 5 people in the area became infected. In the summer of 1847 the number of deaths in Belfast public institutions were averaging between 70 and 80 per week. Many others died in their dwellings or were found dead on the streets. The burial grounds were filled to overflowing with graves being reused to within a few inches of the surface, leading to infestation from rodents. In 1849 Belfast suffered another epidemic, this time from cholera that led to the death of about 1300 people.
In 1852 the Langtrys had a house guest staying with them on Islay at their Ardimersay Cottage (spellings vary). He was Nathaniel Alexander, the former member of parliament for County Antrim. According to newspaper reports of the time he had been suffering for two weeks with “water on the chest” but he was only 38 years of age so there was little concern for his health. However, on 5 January 1853 he died in the cottage. Further tragedies followed; in September 1854 Robert's wife, Eliza, died on Islay and within 7 months Robert died in the Ardimersey Cottage. At the age of eight Edward Langtry, and his three sisters aged nine, six and five were orphaned. Their financial affairs came under the care of trustees and executors: Henry Fulton, William McEwen and their uncle, Richard Langtry. At the time of his death Robert Langtry owned numerous properties in Co. Antrim and Co. Down. Details of these were recorded in 1862 and 1864 in the Griffith's Valuation and can be viewed in summary on the AskAboutIreland.ie web site.
Aftermath Any hope that the orphaned children would grow up with their uncle Richard's family at Fortwilliam came to an end when he died in October 1858 aged 48. He was the fourth son of George Langtry Sr. and within months of his death the Fortwilliam Mansion and estate was put up for sale by the fifth, and only surviving son, Charles Langtry. He had been in business with Richard, running the scheduled Belfast to Liverpool steamer line R & C Langtry. He transferred their two ships, Waterloo and Blenheim, to the Belfast Steamer Company in 1859 and in July 1862 he died in Drumaderragh House.
The death of George Langtry's sons at such early ages created serious difficulties. Only one daughter appears to have lived much longer, she was Maria (Langtry) Waddell, the grandmother of botanist Coslett Herbert Waddell. The financial affairs of Eliza and Robert's four children remained in the control of the trustees until they had reached their age of majority. The 1861 census for Wonston, Hampshire (taken 7 April 1861) indicates that the children, Emily, Edward, Ida and Fanny were "boarders" in the rectory of Rev. Alexander Robert Charles Dallas (1791– 1869). He had helped found the Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics in 1849.
Yachting Edward Langtry's father had been a yachtsman, and his last yacht was the 34 ton, Queen of the Isles, placed on sale after his death in 1855 at Bowling Harbour on the Clyde, Glasgow. In 1868, when Edward Langtry reached the age of 21, he was in the position to purchase his own yacht, a sailing schooner called Red Gauntlet. The vessel was of 147 tons, about 100 ft in length and 19 ft in beam. Built by Inman of Lymington for George Powell Haughton and launched in 1862. The saloon was 18 ft by 15 ft, and a later description said that the yacht could take seven passengers with a crew of eight. The yacht had at least one additional owner before Langtry, he was J Nolan-Ferrall. Other yachts owned by Langtry at this time were Ildegonda, of 15 tons. and later a 60-ton yawl named Gertrude.
Langtry made extensive use of the Red Gauntlet, starting in 1868 by sailing to Dartmouth for the Royal Regatta and then to Dublin. He married in March the following year to Jane Frances Price; in May the newlyweds sailed to the Isle of Man and then on to Islay. From there to Oban and through the Caledonian Canal heading to Norway; by August they were back at the Dartmouth Royal Regatta. In October the Langtrys and Red Gauntlet were reported as being in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, returning to Jersey. In March 1870, the Red Gauntlet with the Langtry family were reported as being in Malta having returned for Syracuse. From that period and into 1871 Edward was involved with domestic regattas racing both Red Gauntlet and Ildegonda. In September, Langtry sailed for Jersey, where in October his wife Jane died at the home of her parents, aged just 21.
During 1872 the yachting press periodically reported that Langtry was taking part in domestic regattas in Ildegonda and in a cutter named Satellite. In December 1872, when most yachts would have been laid up for the season, the yachting correspondent for Bell's Life in London reported that Langtry and Red Gauntlet were heading for St Petersburg, but if the port was closed he would over-winter in Holland for the shooting. In 1873 Langtry was associated with another small yacht (18 tons) called Marguerite and it was reported that Ildegonda had been sold to a Mr Gordon. On 9 March 1874, Langtry married Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in Jersey. She became known as actress Lillie Langtry and wrote a book about her life in which she said that her family insisted Edward Langtry must cut back on his expenditure. This included his yachting activities, and the lack of any mention of his name in the yachting press after 1874 does indicate that he complied. The Red Gauntlet was sold to B.C. Greenhill of Knowle Hall, Bridgewater, in April 1874, less than one month after the couple had married. The yawl Gertrude remained in the ownership of Langtry for the 1874 sailing season. She was sold to Henry W. Acland at the end of 1874.Ms. Acland d. 98. Special Collections, Weston Library. University of Oxford
Jane Frances Price