FOY - SUMMARY OF FAMILY HISTORY IN RELATION TO :
- FINANCIAL & BUSINESS VENTURES INVOLVING BUILDING, MANAGING, and FINANCING THE CANADIAN & AMERICAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
- FOY FAMILY LINEAGE & BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT IN THE HISTORY OF CENTRAL BANKING IN CANADA, AND THE USA
- Published 09-21-2025 by Allison Myers, CEO, Founder
Here's a list of her newly launched ventures in Canada and the USA.
- Etherial Holdings Inc.:
- Holdings & Financial Company
- Etherial Capital is a forward-thinking financial planning and consulting firm specializing in grants, loans, investments, and strategic funding solutions for projects and businesses. We empower entrepreneurs, startups, and organizations to access the capital they need to grow and scale, with expert guidance every step of the way. Our services include tailored financial planning, fintech solutions, human resources, legal, & marketing solutions, funding readiness consulting, investor presentations, investments, mergers & acquisitions, grant application support, loans, and project finance.
- Impact & ESG Financial Consultancy: At Etherial Global, we help entrepreneurs, founders, and organizations in the sustainability, ESG, and Impact sectors navigate business growth and secure funding with precision. Whether you’re launching a Startup, applying for capital, or scaling operations, our tailored business plans and expert consulting services are designed to position you for success. While having a wide range of expertise, we have specific industry interests in accessible power, housing, food, and water projects.
- Impact Construction Project Consultancy & Developments: A Canadian-based development and innovation company committed to tackling the housing crisis, improving food sustainability, clean water initiatives, and enabling critical renewable power and infrastructure projects by implementing practical, forward-thinking solutions. Operating in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver—and within 1.5 hours of their major city centers—we specialize in transforming the way people live through adaptive reuse, modern construction methods, and sustainable design. We strive to make housing more accessible, affordable, and sustainable, offering solutions that align with the demands of modern urban life. Our goal is to foster livable, efficient, and resilient sustainable cities for the future.
- FOY- Relation to Allison Myers,
Daughter of Patrick Myers,
Son of Peter Myers,
Son of Kathleen Myers
Daughter of George J Foy.
🔗Article About The Foy Plot Historical Reference
THE FOY BUILDING
- 32, 34 FRONT STREET, Toronto, Ontario, which belonged to Allison's great-great-grandfather, George J. Foy. The Foy Building was a brokerage and head office of various business operations for grain millers, grocers, and other merchants, which employed nearly 3000 people at the time.
- Operations & Significance: The Foy Building served as the main Branch of the Dominion Bank for many years. It was designed to reflect the stature and prosperity of the bank and the city. It later became known as the "Foy Building" and has housed various businesses and organizations over the years. The building is recognized as a significant part of Toronto's architectural heritage.
- THE FOY BUILDING; PREVIOUSLY LOCATED AT 32, 34 FRONT STREET, Toronto, Ontario
- NOTES: The person writing this article notes he was working for the CN when he was transferred to bonds, which suggests the FOYS were working with bonds and financial instruments. This article also ties together the CN Railway with the Foys, potentially other than the obvious marriage of Alex Smith's daughter into the Foy Family. Allison's Family plot is also mentioned in the article.
The Foy Building, 32,24 Front Street, Toronto
George J Foy Wholesale Liquors & Cigars, on Yonge St., facing east, first laneway south of Front Street
THE PRESENT LOCATION AT 32, 34 FRONT STREET, TORONTO, ONTARIO
- At Present: 32, 34 FRONT STREET is home to the head office of Brookfield Asset Management, AKA Brookfield Place. Cornering 161 and 181 BAY STREET, Toronto, Ontario.
- At Present, 32, 34 FRONT STREET is the head office for TD Canada Trust Bank, one of Canada’s top 5 banks
- The location itself is surrounded by the Dominion Center, also built by the Dominion Bank, which is also at the center of Canada's Financial District in Toronto. The Foys were monumental in the development of much of the downtown core in Toronto in the 1930s
CN Railway, Downtown Toronto skyline in 1970, dominated by the first two towers
The former Toronto Stock Exchange building is built into the base of 222 Bay Street
The origins of TD Canada Trust
- TD's earliest predecessor, The Bank of Toronto, was founded in 1855 by a group of millers and merchants. Rooted in Canada's emerging grain industry, the new bank provided essential financial services. As the bank's business grew, a provincial branch network was built and expanded outside Ontario, to Montreal in 1860.
- Inspired by the prosperity and optimism following Canada's founding in 1867, a group of professionals, industrialists and financiers raised funds to create a new financial institution. Eager to help the young country finance important nation-building projects, the Canadian Parliament issued a charter to The Dominion Bank in 1869. Opening its first branch in 1871, The Dominion Bank kept pace with The Bank of Toronto in extending its services to customers and communities across central Canada.
🔗TD Canada Trust Website: Our Roots
The Business Relations between Brookfield Place, Canada Trust, and the Central Bank of Canada
- Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place)[1] is an office and retail complex in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, comprising the 2.1 ha (5.2-acre) block bounded by Yonge Street, Wellington Street West, Bay Street, and Front Street West. The complex contains 242,000 m2 (2,604,866 sq ft) of office space, 59,000 sq ft (5,481 m2) of retail space,🔗[9] and consists of two towers, the TD Canada Trust Tower (161 Bay Street) and the Bay Wellington Tower
- Brookfield Place serves as the headquarters for 🔗Brookfield Properties, which owns the Bay Wellington Tower section of the complex. The TD Canada Trust Tower was owned in its entirety by the 🔗Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) through its subsidiary 🔗Oxford Properties.[17] In late 2012 or early 2013, OMERS and an unconfirmed entity identified in news reports as the 🔗Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)
- During the early 1900s, before the construction of Brookfield Place at Front and Bay Street, the site was home to the Foy Building, located at 32–38 Front Street. This property belonged to George J. Foy, a Toronto businessman and grocer. George J. Foy was related to Patrick Foy, who was in business with James Austin, the founder of TD Canada Trust (originally the Dominion Bank) at the time of its conception.
- Front Street diverges from the rail line. Along this stretch, which was once industrial with numerous rail sidings, the street features many high-rise buildings. These are mostly residential with ground and lower floors given to retail and commercial uses. East of Blue Jays Way (the extension of Peter Street south), the area becomes commercial. On the north side of the street are office buildings, including the headquarters for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Along the south side is a low-rise office building to the north of the 🔗Rogers Centre stadium. From John Street east to nearly Simcoe is the Metro Convention Centre
Current Buildings located at 161 &181 Bay Street, cornering 32 & 34 Front Street, Toronto
The Dominion Building on Front Street, Toronto
- In current times, Canada's current Prime Minister, Marc Carney, was appointed Vice Chair of Impact Investing for Brookfield Asset Management
🔗Brookfield Press Release: The Current Canadian Prime Minister's History in Leadership
THE NORTH AMERICAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM: NOTABLE FIGURES
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American 🔗investment management and 🔗wealth management division of 🔗Bank of America. Along with 🔗Bofa Securities, the investment banking arm, both firms engage in 🔗prime brokerage and 🔗broker-dealer activities. The firm is headquartered in 🔗New York City, and once occupied the entire 34 stories of 🔗250 Vesey Street, part of the 🔗Brookfield Place complex in 🔗Manhattan. Merrill employs over 14,000 financial advisors and manages $2.8 trillion in client assets ($3.4 trillion for Global Wealth and Investment Management).[2] The company also operates 🔗Merrill Edge, a division for investment and related services, including call center consultancy.
- Merrill Lynch & Co., formally Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, was a publicly traded American investment bank that existed independently from 1914 until January 2009 before being acquired.
🔗 Merrill Lynch, The Catholic Firm on Wall Street, Bank of America, The Thundering Herd
1941, Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce, and Cassatt merged with Fenner & Beane, a New Orleans–based investment bank and commodities company. Throughout the 1930s, 🔗 & Beane was consistently the second-largest securities firm in the U.S. The combined firm, which became the clear leader in securities brokerage in the U.S., was renamed Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane
Notable Persons Mentioned:
Foundational Finance & Business in Toronto, Canada, in the 1800s-1900sFoundational Business Management & Finance for the Vatican 1400s, Irish History of Foy 1200s
Biography: Alex Smith, James Austin, Patrick Foy
PATRICK FOY & CHILDREN
Biography: Patrick Foy
- In 1843, James Austin and Patrick Foy opened a wholesale grocery store in the building. This was Austin's first venture in what would eventually make him one of Canada's most prominent 19th-century business leaders. The grocery operated at the location until 1859.
- James Austin was a central Toronto financier who founded The Dominion Bank (an ancestor of today’s TD) and helped shape early branch banking in the city.
🔗Biography
Biography: Alex Smith
- Alex Smith’s daughter Gertrude Smith married John Foys; James Austin was in business with Patrick Foy at the time when the Dominion Bank was founded. It is believed and noted in historical records that the bank was financed at its inception by Alex Smith, on account of Patrick Foy's close relation, as well as their management experience in financial management and systems for generations for the Vatican in Ireland, dating back to the 1400s.
- He was president of the Dominion Bank and the original promoter of the Niagara Navigation Company. He served as a director of the Toronto General Trusts Company and Consumers’ Gas Company, vice-president of the Dominion Telegraph Company, and president of the Toronto Street Railway, the Northern Railway, the Dominion Bank (established by James Austin and others), the London and Ontario Investment Company, the Niagara Navigation Company, and the Home Savings and Loan Company.
🔗 Alex Smith Wikipedia- Daughter Gertrude Smith marries John Foy
- Donald (Alex) Smith — better known historically as Donald A. Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal — was a major Canadian financier, railway promoter, and Hudson’s Bay Company leader who played a prominent role in the financing and promotion of transcontinental rail projects in the late 19th century.
- The Foy–Smith marital home you mention is one of Toronto’s preserved historic mansions (often shown as “Foy House” in local heritage listings and venue guides) and is still maintained as a notable example of the city’s older residential architecture.
- Niagara Navigation Company, Crown Life Insurance Company, Home Savings & Loan Company, Toronto General Trusts Corporation, The Dominion Bank
🔗Daniel Brook Building Wikipedia
Biography: John Foy, Son of Patrick Foy
- John Foy was the son of Patrick Foy and Catherine Mallaney, natives of Ireland, and early settlers of Toronto; Patrick Foy was a wholesale grocer for many years, and in partnership with James Austin, operated a grocery store in the Daniel Brooke building, which still stands at the corner of King and Jarvis streets in Toronto.
- John Foy attended St. Michael's College, and then went to England and studied at Ushaw College, Durham, England, completing his education in France. Mr. Foy then returned to Toronto and began his business life as a confidential assistant to 🔗Sir Frank Smith, whose daughter he afterward married. He was subsequently elected president of this company and filled that position until his death. Mr. Foy was a director in the Crown Life Insurance Company, vice-president and a director in the Home Savings & Loan Company, a director in the Toronto General Trusts Corporation, and was also financially interested in other business enterprises of the city.
·
Biography: James Joseph "J.J." Foy, son of Patrick Foy
- J.J Foy was an Ontario lawyer and political figure. He represented 🔗Toronto South in the 🔗Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a 🔗Conservative member from 1898 to 1916.
- He was born in Toronto, the son of Patrick Foy, a Toronto merchant, and educated at 🔗St. Michael's College, Toronto and 🔗Ushaw College. He was called to the bar in 1871 and set up practice with a law firm in Toronto. In 1879, he married Marie Cuvillier. Foy was named 🔗Queen's Counsel in 1883.🔗[1]
- In 1902, Foy served as a pallbearer at the funeral for his longtime friend, Catholic railway magnate John Ryan, alongside fellow Ontario politicians 🔗George Taylor Fulford, 🔗William Henry Comstock, and 🔗G.P. Graham.
- The Directors of The Dominion Bank, elected at its 1912 annual meeting, were as follows: Sir Edmund B. Osler, M.P. (President), W. D. Matthews (Vice-president), W. R. Brock, A. W. Austin, R. J. Christie, John C. Eaton, James Carruthers, Hon. J. J. Foy, K.C., M.L.A., and A. M. Nanton.- PAGE 37 on TD Banking Record
- Other Notable Figures- John C Eaton
The Foy Name in Ireland
- Surname origins: Foy is a name of Norman-French origin (from Foy, meaning “faith”) that became established in Ireland after the Norman invasion (12th–13th centuries). Variants include de Foy or Le Foy. Families with this name are found primarily in Counties Cavan, Leitrim, and Mayo, as well as Ulster.
- Clerical connections: It’s not unusual for members of such families to have entered the Catholic priesthood over the centuries, serving as parish vicars or rectors.
- Tithes (or “tides”): In pre-Reformation and post-Reformation Ireland, tithes were traditionally a tenth of local agricultural produce or income collected to support the Church. Under Catholic control (before the 16th century), much of this revenue ultimately supported diocesan operations and, in some cases, papal projects in Rome. After the English Reformation, the established Anglican Church of Ireland controlled tithes, which caused widespread resentment among the largely Catholic population.
- Parish administration: Vicars managed local worship, oversaw parish lands, and collected tithes on behalf of their bishop or monastic overlords, forwarding a portion up the ecclesiastical chain. This practice was standard throughout Catholic Europe, not unique to the Foy family.
- Modern finance: The
Vatican still issues certain types of financial instruments—primarily
bonds, investment vehicles through the Vatican Bank (IOR), and
governance of Vatican City State finances. These are not directly
connected to historic Irish parish tithes but reflect the Holy See’s
ongoing role as a sovereign entity managing investments and global
charitable funds.
- Historical continuity: The Vatican’s financial operations trace back centuries, evolving from tithe revenues and landholdings into modern banking, property management, and philanthropic funds.
🔗peterspioneers.com+1
Vicars and Tithes in Ireland
Vatican Financial Instruments Today
· 🔗Foy Family History in Ireland in Finance with the Catholic Church.
What “Foy / Fee / Ó Fiaich” Means & Their Origins
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The surnames Fee, Foy, Fay, Foye, Fey etc. are often anglicizations or variants of the Irish Gaelic Ó Fiaich, meaning “descendant of Fiach”. The name Fiach means “raven” in Irish. 🔗SurnameDB+3SurnameDB+3Wikipedia+3
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The Foy / Fee families are connected genealogically (or by tradition) to the Cenél nEógain, an important branch in Irish history. Cenél nEógain are descendants of Eógan, who is one of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages (a legendary High King of Ireland).
The Foy Name in France, Legacy Works in Quebec, Global Missions
FAMILY FRIENDS, INVOLVEMENT WITH THE FEDERATION OF CANADA
5:30 in the video establishes Saint Patrick's Church with Darcey McGee, and the Dominion Bank, to this date the church is still in connection with MissionFoi.ca, The Foy (Foi) from France
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gonz50aQFXQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Basilica,_Montreal
#/media/File:Toronto_-_ON_-_TD_Canada_Trust_Tower2.jpg){kind=link}
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