Two Marriages That Made a Law Firm: 1862-75

• Author: C. Ian Kyer
• Pages: 13-46



M Chapter N

TWO MARRIAGES

THAT MADE A LAW FIRM:



Anyone seeking an appreciation of the early years of Faskens should begin

with a visit to Toronto’s St. James Cathedral. The Anglican Churc h, and this

church in particular, played a central role in the lives of the early partners

and their families. Religion was an important part of their social fabric.

St. James is replete with evidence of the strong connection between the

churchandthermaboxpewlongheldbythefamilyofoneofthefound

ers, a chapel donated by that family, stained glass windows, and numerous

plaquesallstandtodayasmemorialstomembersofthermortheirfamilies

andtotherootsofthermintheAnglicancommunityofmidnineteenth

centuryTorontoandspecicallyinthatportionwithOrangeIrishroots

Two of the memorials in St. James are of special interest. In the eastern

aisle of the nave is a beautiful white marble plaque commemorating the

deathinofayoungwomanEllenByrneChadwickAlongthewest

ernaisleisasetofthreetallstainedglasswindowswithaLatininscription

that translates as “Blessed is he that readeth.” These windows, which depict

the role played by the Church in the revival of English learning after the

VikingraidsarededicatedtothememoryofCharloeLouisaBeaywho

diedattheageofeightyoneinThereisnoobviouslinkbetweenthe

twowomensomemorializedandtheFaskensrmyetsuchalinkexists

they were born in Toronto within three years of each other, and each mar

riedafoundingpartnerTounderstandhowthermcameintoexistence

ﾅﾈLawyersFamiliesandBusinesses

and why it prospered, one needs to look at the women remembered by these

memorials.

Even though the rm did not admit its rst woman lawyer Georgia

Bentleyuntilalmostyearshadpassedanddidnothaveawomanpart

neruntilEleanoreCronkinitisnotanexaggerationtosaythatEllen

Chadwick and Charloe Beay were crucial to its founding and success

Ellen’s courtship and later marriage to Edward Marion Chadwick gave birth

to the association between the men; it is clear that but for her, Chadwick

would never have gone into partnership with her brother. Once established,

howeverthermgrewandprosperedbecauseofCharloeWortsandher

marriagetoWilliamHenryBeayCharloeprovidedtheenormouslyim

portant link to the Gooderham and Worts families and their numerous and

protablebusinessestheconnectionthatnurturedthermsearlysuccess

InfactCharloesmarriagetoBeaymayhavebeenthesinglemostimport

anteventintherstftyyearsoftherm

Much of what we know of Ellen comes from the writings of her husband,

who was both a regular diarist and a published genealogist. In his diary,

ChadwicktellsusthathemetEllenBeayinwhenshewasanaract

iveeighteenyearoldShewasbornonNovemberinTorontothefth

ofeightchildrenofJamesandAnneBeay One brother, James Jr., died in

infancy. When Ellen met Chadwick, her father was seventy and had long been

in poor health. She had one older brother, William Henry, and three older

sisters, Elizabeth, Jane Louisa, and Annie. She also had a younger brother,

JosephWalkerandayoungersisterDianaMaryIntheBeaychildren

allunmarriedwerelivingwiththeirparentsinatwostoreybrickhouseat

WilliamStreetoneblockwestofCollegeAvenuemoderndayUniver

sityAvenueandjustnorthofQueenStreetThisshorttreelinedstreethad

butafewhousesonlargelotsTheBeayhousewasastonesthrowfrom

OsgoodeHallwhereEllensolderbrotherWilliamwasaendinglectures

as he studied to be a solicitor.

TheBeayswereingoodcompanyonWilliamStreetlivingjustsouth

of the substantial property owned by the Honourable William Pearce How

land, a prosperous grain merchant and member of the Legislative Assem

bly. Farther up the street was the home of Justice John Hawkins Hagarty,

who had been a puisne judge of the Court of Common Pleas for six years and

thatyearhadbecomeajudgeoftheCourtofQueensBench

Ellensfather had come to Canada from Belfast Ireland at age thir ty

eightthirteenyearsbeforeshewasbornJamesBeayhadintendedtomake

TwoMarriagesThatMadeaLawFirmﾅﾉ

ashortstopoverinYorkasTorontowasthenknownbutinsteadseledin

thetownofaboutInhesetupabusinessonthesouthsideof

King Street, just a few shops east of Yonge. James soon became a prominent

merchantcallinghisbusinesstheBritishWoollenandCoonWarehouse

He sold plain and fancy muslin of his manufacture and British woollen

goods that he imported. The year after he established his business, he mar

ried Anne Byrne McKowen, who had been orphaned in tra nsit from Dublin

when most of her family died in Montreal.OnDecemberAnnehad

givenherhusbandasonWilliamHenryJamesclosedhisbusinessin

most likely for health reasons, and became a “gentleman,” never working

again. Whatever his disability, it did not prevent him from serving in the

militiarisingtotherankofmajorinandlatertocolonel

Ellen’s father never worked in her lifetime. His health problems meant

that William had been forced to mature early, assuming an adult’s respon

sibilityandsharingtheroleofheadofthefamilywithhismotherBy

Williamwastwentysixyearsoldandbelatedlystudyingtobeasolicitor

HehadaendedUpperCanadaCollegebutwedonotknowwhathedidto

support his family on leaving school and before he started his legal educa

tion.

ItwasMaywhenEllenmetChadwickSheandhersisterswere

aending a party given to celebrate the accomplishment of a number

of young men whohad be en certied as aorneys and solicitors the day

before.Atthattimelegaleducationwasprimarilyamaerofapprentice

ship to an established practitioner. At the end of their period under articles,

candidateswereexaminedandiftheypassedtheyreceivedacerticateof

tnessasanaorneyandsolicitorAfurtheryearofprivatestudyfollowed

bywrienandoralexaminationswasnecessarytobecalledasabarrister

AstheintroductiontotheUpper CanadaLaw List stated, “the professions

ofBarristerandAorneymaybeandusuallyarefollowedtogether One of

thenewlycertiedaorneyswasEdwardMarionChadwickEllensbrother

WilliamwasninemonthsawayfrombeingsocertiedTherewasmuchthat

would have appealed to Ellen about Marion, as he was known: he was a tall,

handsomegregariouswiytwentyoneyearoldWedonotknowagreat

deal about Ellen, but we do know that Chadwick was taken with her and her

foursisterstheshemininesashewouldlaterlabeltheminthediary

ChadwickmakesnomentionofWilliamBeay

It would soon have been obvious to Chadwick and the Beay girls

that they had plenty in common. Both fami lies had come from Ireland, both