What does the following sentence mean in Emma by Jane Austen? "The Woodhouses were first in consequence there."

We are at
the start of 's novel, . Austen is introducing the character of Emma
Woodhouse, who is:

handsome, clever, and rich, with a
comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence;
and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex
her.

But soon enough, Emma is vexed and distressed. She
and her father live in the country estate of Hartfield, near the village of Highbury. For
several years, Emma has been blessed with the company of her governess, friend, and intellectual
companion, Isabella Taylor, but now Isabella has married and moved with her husband to another
village. Emma's sister is far away and rarely visits from London....