Henry Pering Pellew Crease

Sir Henry Pering Pellew Crease (20 August 1823 – 27 November 1905) was a British-Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, influential in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. He was the first Attorney General of the united Colony of British Columbia, and sat on the Supreme Court of that province for 26 years. Early life Crease was born at Ince Castle, in Cornwall, the son of a Royal Navy captain. He attended Mount Radford School in Exeter, where he was a contemporary of Joseph Trutch. He earned his BA from Clare College, Cambridge and then studied law at the Middle Temple. Though called to the bar in June 1849, he did not immediately pursue his career in law. Instead he joined his parents in an unsuccessful canal building endeavour in Upper Canada. After only a short turn as a barrister on his return to England, he took a job in Cornwall managing a tin mine owned by Great Wheal Vor United Mines, which ended with his employer suing him. By the time Crease left again for Canada in April 1858, he had married Sarah Lindley and had three young daughters, Susan, Mary, and Barbara. Sarah was the daughter of the famous botanist, John Lindley. She was also a talented scientific illustrator and artist, and would go on to create many drawings and watercolours of early BC. Unable to find work in Toronto, Henry decided to try his luck in Victoria, and arrived there in December. Lawyer and politician Upon his arrival in Victoria, Crease was admitted as a barrister to the courts of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, becoming the first lawyer qualified to practice in both jurisdictions. Crease opened a practice in Victoria, sent for his family, and soon found himself travelling with Supreme Court Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie on his first circuit, dealing out justice on the frontier as a Crown prosecutor in the midst of the Gold Rush.