John Beaty
Plot U, Lot C
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
The third person to settle the area of present-day Toronto west of Dufferin Street when it was still “out in the country,” was John Beaty. He was born in Ireland in 1825 and immigrated to Toronto in 1845. His first employment was assisting his uncle James collect tolls on the roads along the lake shore leading to and from the little town. In 1859, the young man married Janet Triller (Triller Avenue in Parkdale is named for her family), and in 1871 was appointed to Her Majesty’s Customs Service. A year later, in one of the great Toronto real estate deals of all time, he purchased the estate of Colonel Dunn of the 100th Regiment, that stretched from today’s Dowling Avenue west to Convalesce for $200 an acre. He spent the rest of his life in comfort, selling off parcels of land as the town of Parkdale grew, eventually becoming part of the city in 1889. Beaty Avenue is named for this gentleman, who died at his residence, 1499 Queen Street West on November 10, 1908.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded