collection F2351 - Edward Marion Chadwick fonds

Edward Marion Chadwick, lawyer, heraldist, and genealogist, was born on September 22, 1840, near Jerseyville, Ancaster Township, Upper Canada, the son of John Craven Chadwick and Louisa Bell. Marion Chadwick’s father, John Craven Chadwick, immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland. Marion Chadwick married Ellen Byrne Beatty in Toronto on June 28, 1864. Ellen Byrne Beatty passed away shortly after the marriage. On February 20, 1868, Marion Chadwick married Maria Martha Fisher. Marion Chadwick and Fisher had five sons
and two daughters.

Chadwick studied at Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the bar in 1863. He began a partnership with William Henry Beatty. Their firm became the largest law firm in the country, thanks to a family connection with Gooderham and Worts. Chadwick’s legal practice focused on conveyance and estates and in 1910 he was awarded the title of “King’s Counsel”. Chadwick was also active in the Church of England. He was very involved with the construction of the Cathedral of St Alban the Martyr in Toronto. Chadwick acted as the lay canon and treasurer of St Alban’s, living near the Cathedral on Howland Avenue. In his later years, Chadwick became increasingly interested in genealogy and published a volume entitled Ontarian Families. A noted heraldist, Chadwick encouraged the use of Canadian flora and fauna in heraldry and was involved in selecting the maple leaf as the Canadian national symbol. Chadwick developed a close relationship with the people of the Six Nations Reserve and was made an honorary chief of the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk. He was given the name “Shagotyohgwisaks”, meaning “one who seeks a gathering of the people”, for his advocacy of the formation of a Six Nations militia regiment. Chadwick collected Native American regalia and wrote The People of the Longhouse about the genealogy, symbols, and customs of the Iroquois.

Chadwick’s diaries in this collection detail and illuminate his lesser-known role as an active participant, observer, and commentator on Toronto society and social events. Chadwick died in Toronto on 15 December 1921.