Fonds glen-1762 - Nolan family fonds

Patrick James “Paddy” Nolan, 1862-1913, was born in Limerick, Ireland and trained as a lawyer at Trinity College, Dublin. He came to Calgary, Alberta in 1889 and served for a short time as editor of the Calgary Herald. He established a legal practice and continued to supply news to the paper. Nolan specialized in criminal defence work and was noted for his courtroom abilities. In 1892 he married Mary Elizabeth Lee, 1868-1964, daughter of Thomas, 1842-1912, and Margaret Lee, 1844-1917, and sister of Florence Rosetta “Flora” Lee, 1873-1967, all of whom had moved to Calgary in 1884. Paddy and Mary had one son, Henry Grattan Nolan, 1893-1957 who also became a lawyer. Henry received a BA from the University of Alberta in 1914 and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in 1915. However, he joined the armed forces and received the Military Cross for service in France. Henry then attended Oxford and received his legal degree in 1921. He returned to Calgary and was associated with the firm of Bennett, Hannah & Sanford [now Bennett Jones]. During World War II he served with the Canadian Army, becoming a Vice-Judge Advocate General. After the war Henry was a prosecutor before the International Military Tribunal in Tokyo. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1956. In 1928 Henry married Doris Margery McCarter, 1898-1993, daughter of Calgary/Revelstoke lawyer George Smith McCarter, 1867-?, and his wife Katherine Clothilde “Katie”, 1874-1967. Katie was the daughter of Banff Park official Howard Douglas, 1850-1929, and his wife Alice Maud Johnston. Henry and Doris had two daughters, Shelagh (Lester), 1931-, and Moira Douglas “Tree” Nolan, 1934-2015. Moira was educated at St. Hilda’s School for Girls in Calgary. For further information see He Left Them Laughing When He Said Goodbye : The Life and Times of Frontier Lawyer Paddy Nolan / Grant MacEwan. - Saskatoon : Western Producer Prairie Books, 1987; Louis A. Knafla's entry "Patrick James Nolan" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, volume XIV. -- Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1998, p. 782-784; and Shelagh Nolan [Lester]'s article, "A Young Girl in the Old West" in Beaver. -- (August/September 1986), p. 49-55.