William (1822-1894) and John (1824-1885) Magee emigrated, with their parents, from Enniskillen, Ireland, to Saint John, New Brunswick, in the early 1830s. In 1836, William apprenticed with W.G. Lawton, dry goods merchant. Some time later William opened a dry goods business and millinery store with his sister. They were soon joined by their brother John, who had also worked with Lawton.

In 1858, William and John entered into a formal partnership agreement to carry on business as Magee Bros.; in Saint John as wholesale and retail dry goods merchants and importers; and in Granville, Nova Scotia, as mill owners and manufacturers. Magee Bros. were also involved in cattle breeding and farming. The firm gave up the dry good business in 1877, and turned its interests to coal and shipping. On John's death in 1885, his share in the company was transferred to William.

John Magee married Maria Julia Merritt (1827-1898) in 1854. They had three sons: William Clarence Magee (1856-1923), John Buchanan Magee (1857-1939), and Arthur Merritt Magee, who were clerks at Magee Bros. & Co. By 1882, William C. and John B. formed William C. Magee and Co., shipbrokers. After their father's death, William C. and John B. were again employed with Magee Bros., and William C. Magee and Co. no longer appeared in city directories until 1916. After 1904, William C. was listed with Magee Bros. and John appears as an insurance agent and later as an employee of Manchester, Robertson and Allison.

John B. Magee and his wife Minnie had a son, Arthur, who was killed April 1915 in France. They also had a daughter, Edith Marion Magee (1888-1980).