James Miles Langstaff (June 3, 1825 – August 5, 1889) was a Canadian physician and the reeve of

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill ( 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and the 27th most populous municipality in Canada. Ric ...

in 1880 and a village councillor there in 1878. Langstaff was born in Richmond Hill, at the Langstaff residence, an area then known as Langstaff Corners (now near Highway 7 and

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

). He was the son of Jon Langstaff and Lucy Miles and grandson of Abner Mills. Langstaff first studied medicine as a "house pupil" under

John Rolph John Rolph (4 March 1793 – 19 October 1870) was a Canadian physician, lawyer, and political figure. As a politician, he was considered the leader of the Reform faction in the 1820s and helped plan the Upper Canada Rebellion. As a doctor, h ...

in Toronto. He later travelled to study in

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, at

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. After completing his schooling, he was licensed by the Upper Canada Medical Board and he set up a

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in Unionville in April 1849 but after only four months relocated it to Richmond Hill. In 1850 and 1851, Langstaff was listed as a professor at Rolph's Toronto School of Medicine. Langstaff also owned a sawmill in the area. Although his fees were the same as those suggested by the local medical association, he often did not collect them from the poor, or reduced them for various reasons, and the addition income from the sawmill was needed to support his family. In 1878, Langstaff was elected to the Richmond Hill Village Council as a councillor. He served one year. In 1880, he was elected to the council as reeve. Langstaff died in 1889, still an active doctor.

Family and legacy

Langstaff married Mary Ann Miller in 1854. The couple had ten

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, with three surviving to adulthood. The academic

Phyllis Grosskurth Phyllis Marguerite Grosskurth (''née'' Langstaff; March 16, 1924 – August 2, 2015) was a Canadian academic, writer, and literary critic. Grosskurth was born in Toronto, Ontario, the granddaughter of physician James Miles Langstaff. She r ...

(1924–2015) was his granddaughter. In 1882, the widowed Langstaff married Louisa Palmer, with whom he had four additional children. Langstaff Secondary School in Richmond Hill was opened in 1964 and named in his honour. Dr. James Langstaff Park in Richmond Hill is also named in his honour. It is part of the Langstaff Discovery Centre whose name more generally honours his family line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langstaff, James 1825 births 1889 deaths Mayors of Richmond Hill, Ontario Canadian physicians Canadian people of English descent 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario