Chiswell Langhorne

Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (November 4, 1843 – February 14, 1919) was an American railroad industrialist. He was the father of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and Michael Langhorne Astor. Early life Langhorne was born on November 4, 1843, in Lynchburg, Virginia, at Point of Honor. He was the eldest son of John Scarsbrook Langhorne and Sarah Elizabeth (née Dabney) Langhorne. His father inherited Langhorne Mills in Lynchburg along with the bulk of his father Henry's property. His maternal family owned the Edgemont plantation. The family had been wealthy planters and slaveowners before the American Civil War. The Confederate General Jeb Stuart was a relative. The Langhorne family lived in greatly reduced circumstances after the war. However, during the next quarterncentury, "Chilly" made a new fortune by working first in the tobacco auctioneering business and then in railroads.