William Henry Beatty

Who was William Henry Beatty?

William Henry Beatty, was a Canadian lawyer and businessman.

William Henry Beatty was the eldest of three sons and five daughters of James Beatty, an Irish born Toronto merchant. James had operated the British Woollen and Cotton Warehouse on the south side of King Street and had served in the militia, rising to the rank of Colonel. In 1832, he had married Ann, the daughter of James McKowen of Dublin. He was educated at Upper Canada College from 1842 to 1845. Some years later Beatty decided to study law. He articled with John Leys and attended lectures at Osgoode Hall. He was admitted to the Bar February 5, 1863 and entered into partnership with Edward Marion Chadwick who was from an important Guelph family also of Irish origin and his future brother-in-law. On Tuesday 28 June 1864, Chadwick married Beatty's sister, Ellen at St. James Cathedral. Regrettably Ellen, the woman who had brought the two partners together, died suddenly in February of the following year, after only a few hours of illness. Chadwick's short-lived marriage to Ellen may have helped cement the partnership, but the success of the firm was intimately connected with Beatty's marriage. In April, 1865, Beatty remarried Charlotte Louisa Worts at Little Trinity Anglican Church. She was the eldest daughter of James Gooderham Worts, was one of the two partners in the Gooderham & Worts distillery and milling business and an important figure in a number of other businesses.