Helen Gregory was born in 1869 in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1888 she was the first woman to graduate from Trinity College, University of Toronto. Following graduation she was a newspaperwoman. In 1890 she married Dr. F.C. Flesher. They lived in California, where she and her mother, an ardent suffragette, owned and edited two small newspapers. She was widowed in 1900. In 1902 she married J.H. MacGill, a Vancouver barrister. In 1917 she was appointed judge of the Juvenile Court. She presided there from 1917-1920 and was reappointed in 1934 until her retirement in 1944. She always worked for many causes, but her main concern was the welfare of women and children. She died in 1947.