Helen Gregory MacGill (, Gregory; after first marriage, Flesher; after second marriage, MacGill; January 7, 1864 – February 27, 1947) was one of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's first woman judges - and for many years the country's only woman judge - journalist, and a noted

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

advocate in Canada, where she fought for female

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. Daughter of Emma and Silas Ebenezer Gregory, her maternal grandfather was Upper Canada barrister and judge Miles O'Reilly, noted for his successful defense of the group accused of participating in the 1837

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

Biography

Helen Emma Gregory was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. She became the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Music from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, and she also earned a M.A. degree in 1889 from this institution (now part of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

). She was the only woman in her class and the first female graduate, and the first woman in the British Empire to receive a degree in music. She then went into newspaper work, working as a journalist for ''Cosmopolitan''. MacGill first married in 1890; her first husband, F.C. "Lee" Flesher, died in 1901 from the consequences of an earlier knife attack from one of the patients at the Mayo Clinic, leaving behind two young boys, Eric (1891) and Freddy (1894). She married the lawyer James Henry "Jim" MacGill, a friend from her college days, in 1902. With MacGill, she gave birth to two daughters, "Young Helen" (Dr. Helen MacGill Hughes (1903), and

Elsie MacGill Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill (March 27, 1905November 4, 1980), known as the "Queen of the Hawker Hurricane, Hurricanes", was a Canadian engineer. She was chief aeronautical engineer at Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F) in Fort William, Ontari ...

(1905), a pioneering female aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer. She died on February 27, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 83.

Life as a journalist

As part of her job as a foreign correspondent for ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, MacGill had as her first assignment the interview of leading members of the Japanese parliament in 1890. She also wrote several articles for the Toronto Globe, and wrote for other magazines and papers like the Vancouver Daily World and People’s Magazine.

Life as a judge

As part of her political and social role, MacGill was involved in the legal and political realities of British Columbia. As chair of the Laws Committee of the University Women’s Club, she was concerned about the situation of domestic legislation in the province. This situation led her to learn on her own about the subject, and then she self-published the book ''Daughters, Wives and Mothers in British Columbia'' as a guidebook with the laws regarding the topic. MacGill became the first British Columbia female judge in 1917 and the third in Canada. She served as a juvenile court judge from 1917 to 1929, and then from 1934 to 1945. After 23 years of service, she retired at the age of 81. As part of her legacy, she contributed to the study of the field of juvenile delinquency. She also worked for improvements in the social welfare system.

Life as feminist

MacGill was a feminist within the system that rejected radical feminism and believed that the role of a mother was the one that should allow women to be part of the public sphere. During her life, she advocated for women’s rights, like the right to vote, and she also fought for inclusive changes for women and children from the legal reform perspective. Always active in women's rights, she became a member of the British Columbia Minimum Wage Board, periodically chairing meetings, and referring debates on sector-based minimum wages. She was a co-founder of the Vancouver Business and Professional Women's Club in 1923. In 1930, she was instrumental in creating the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women Clubs. While her husband had strong ties to the Laurier Liberals, Helen MacGill was a committed Conservative.Richard I. Bourgeois-Doyle p. 38

Biography

Life as a journalist

Life as a judge

Life as feminist

References

Further reading