Biography:

Dr. Charles Beaver was born in Bordeaux, France on the 1st of January, 1820.  According to the 1872 Ontario Medical Register, Dr. Beaver received his M.D. from the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1859.  (This university operated from 1850 until it closed its doors in 1880).  Dr. Beaver joined the College of Physician and Surgeons on the 27th of August, 1869.

Dr. Beaver’s wife Margaret “Maggie” was born in Alsac-Lorraine, France on the 1st of April, 1830, but she was of German ancestry.  According to an article that appeared in the Chatham Daily Planet on the 17th of February, 1902, Mrs. Beaver immigrated to the United States when she was 17 years old and settled in Wisconsin.  It is unclear whether Mrs. Beaver was married at the time to her first husband Peter Mader, when she immigrated.  Mr. and Mrs. Mader were farmers and they had a son Peter who was born in Leroy, Wisconsin on the 29th of July, 1850.  Peter Mader Sr. died on the 10th of June, 1860 at the age of 40.  According to the 1860 U.S. Census, Mrs. Mader and her 9 year old son Peter Mader were living with Dr. Christoph Zipp in Hubbard, Wisconsin.  Mrs. Mader was listed as the housekeeper for Dr. Zipp.

It is unknown where or when Dr. Beaver married his wife Margaret, but prior to the birth of their 2 sons, Dr. and Mrs. Beaver moved to Chatham, where Dr. Beaver had set up his medical practice.  Their son Charles S. Beaver was born in Chatham on the 7th of November, 1861 and William “Willie” Beaver was born on the 16th of February 1865.   According to the 1882 Ontario Medical Register, Dr. Beaver became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, on the 27th of August, 1869.

Dr. Beaver’s home and office were located at 60 King Street East in Chatham. He was listed in the 1864-65 Kent County Directory and Gazetteer, the 1877 and 1882 Chatham Directory and in the 1885 Ontario Business Directory.  According to the 1888 Chatham Town Directory, Dr. Beaver lists his office and residence at 57 King Street East.

Dr. Beaver died on the 19th of September, 1890. His son Charles Beaver, was a practicing physician in Chatham at the time of his death. According to the 1901 census, his other son Willie and Willie’s wife Barbara (maiden name Pierre) had moved in to the house on King Street with Mrs. Beaver.  Barbara cared for Mrs. Beaver until her death.   On the 16th of February, 1902, Mrs. Beaver was putting her grandchildren to bed when she collapsed and died.

Dr. and Mrs. Beaver and their sons Dr. Charles S. Beaver Jr. and Willie Beaver were all buried at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham.

*His son, Dr. Charles S. Beaver also appears on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.