Langille Family

Introduction

This a website for the Langille family. It site was created to share the life experiences of my branch of the Langille family tree. Everyone remembers talking to a elder member of their family about their life experiences and thought this should be written down so others can learn about their family.

Growing up I had some contact with with great-grandfather Langille who served in World War I. This is part of the reason why I have been interested in Canada's involvement during the two World Wars.

What does the Langille name mean?

1. French: nickname for a chatterbox from Old French langille ‘little tongue’.

Experts say the name Langille appears to be of early origin being derived by location. The Langille name originated in Scotland probably in the 14th Century. Originally spelled LANGUILLES it meant dweller near the long hill or long well. The word 'long' in Scotland was spelled LANG.

Queen Mary the first, the daughter of Catherine of Aragaon, became known as Bloody Mary when she had hundreds of people killed for following the Protestant faith. The Languilles probably fled England at this time. The massacres lasted until Mary died in 1558. The Languilles are believed to have fled to Switzerland, but this remains uncertain. The surname Langel and Lengyel commonly exist in Switzerland and are a possible relation. The Thirty Years War of 1618-1646 caused the uprooting of many families. It may have been then that the Languilles finally arrived in Dampierre. By 1680 Languilles did live in Dampierre, a village in France, near the Swiss border. The earliest known ancestor and patriarch to the Nova Scotia Langilles was a man named Daniel. The name Daniel is Hebrew in origin and means "God is my Judge"

In the mid 1700's, 11 Langilles (David aged 37, Mathieu 28, Marguerit 2, Leopold 24, David 31, Jacques 5, Marguerit 3, Jacques 16, James, Catherine and Catherine.) moved from Dampierre-Outre-les-Bois, in Montebeliard, France, where the y changed its name to Dampierre-les-Bois. The Principality of Montebeliard was located 9 miles from the Swiss border and 43 miles northeast of Besancon, on the Rhine River and the Paris Lyon railway. And arrived in Halifax, NS to start a new life in North American. The Langille family is one of the oldest families in Nova Scotia. By 1771 the population of Langilles in Nova Scotia had risen to 32.