James had operated the British Woollen and Cotton Warehouse on the south side of King Street and had served in the militia, rising to the rank of colonel.
He was admitted to the Bar February 5, 1863, and entered into partnership with Edward Marion Chadwick who was from an important Guelph family also of Irish origin and his future brother-in-law.
On Tuesday June 28, 1864, Chadwick married Beatty's sister, Ellen at St. James Cathedral.
Regrettably Ellen, the woman who had brought the two partners together, died suddenly in February of the following year, after only a few hours of illness.
He also represented the Board in 1896 at the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire in London, England.