The Beatteay family was originally from Chatham, England. Captain James Beatteay, 1769-1849, was a mariner by occupation and a Loyalist who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1783. William B. Beatteay, 1808-1877, was the son of Captain Beatteay. He married Mary Ann Chadeayne, 1817-[18?] on 15 September 1829. They had at least one son, John B. Beatteay (1831-1898). John married Mary E. Tufts on 12 June 1866, and they had at least one child, a daughter Louise Gertrude, who was born in 1879. In 1871 Saint John census lists another daughter, Maria.

William and his son John were in the sawmill business and their operation was located in Carleton, West Saint John. There is also a Ketchum Beatteay listed as being in the sawmill business, however, no clear relationship with the father and son can be established. Members of the Beatteay family owned land in Carleton and appeared to have lived mostly on the west side. There was also intermarriage with another Loyalist family, the Olives, who were also land owners in the same area.

Sources: McAlpines City Directory 1863-1864; Dunphy, Marion, Parts of a Missing Census St. John County, N.B., 1861; Wood-Holt, B., Early Marriage Records of New Brunswick; Census Saint John 1851, 1871, 1891