BEATON, LACHLAN (1863-1951)

BEATON, LACHLAN, Presbyterian minister, Blackville, 1912-17; b. Big Bank, Boularderie, Cape Breton, N.S., Jul 1863, s/o John Beaton and h/w Isabella; m. 1887, Margaret MacMillan, of Big Harbour, Cape Breton; d. Toronto, 15 Oct 1951.

After finishing his secondary schooling at Sydney Academy, Lachlan Beaton farmed for about ten years in his home district of Boularderie, Cape Breton. He then attended Dalhousie University (1893-94) to satisfy the admission requirements of the theological seminary in Auburn, N.Y. From there he transferred to the Presbyterian College in Montreal, where he completed his training and was ordained in 1898.

Beaton ministered at Cape North and elsewhere in Cape Breton for twelve years and was three years at Caledonia, P.E.I. In 1912 he accepted a call to Blackville. He stayed until September 1917, when he returned to Cape Breton. In 1922 he moved to Marsboro, in the Lac-Mègantic district in Quebec, and he spent the remainder of his ministry in Quebec and Ontario. His mother tongue was Gaelic, and he was often invited to preach in that language. He did not join the United Church at the time of union in 1925.

Beaton retired in Toronto in 1935 and resided there until his death in 1951. He and his wife, Margaret MacMillan, had one daughter and three sons who lived to maturity. Two of their sons, John A. Beaton and Malcolm Beaton, were physicians. A graduate of McGill University (MD CM 1913), Malcolm Beaton practiced at Red Bank from 1913 or 1914 until 1917. He later had a Montreal address.