G. Cosens Prior
G. Cosens Prior | |
|---|---|
 Prior in 1891 | |
| Born | 1855 Chichester, West Sussex, England |
| Died | 1937 (aged 81) Brentford, Middlesex, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Organizations |
|
| Known for | Temperance and vegetarianism activism |
| Criminal charges | Misappropriation of client funds (1904) |
| Criminal penalty | Five years' penal servitude (1904) |
| Spouse |
Clara Gertrude Wilkin
(m. 1880; died 1918) |
| Children | 9 |
George Cosens Prior (1855–1937) was an English solicitor, notary public, Unitarian minister, and activist. He led a prominent law firm in Portsmouth, managed key trusts, and maintained a large private practice. An advocate for temperance and vegetarianism, he served as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union and Portsmouth Vegetarian Society. He also served as Chairman of the Committee of the Vegetarian Federal Union and acted as honorary solicitor for the Order of the Golden Age. In 1904, after declaring bankruptcy, he was convicted of misappropriating client funds and sentenced to five years' penal servitude.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]George Cosens Prior was born in Chichester in the final quarter of 1855.[1] His parents were John Woods Prior, the founder of the family wool-stapling business in Chichester, and Amelia (née Underdown).[2]
Career
[edit]Prior served as the head of one of the oldest law firms in Portsmouth, acted as a solicitor for several prominent trusts, and maintained an extensive private practice.[3]: 173 He also worked as a notary public[4] and served as a minister at the Portsmouth High-Street Unitarian Church.[5]
Activism
[edit]Prior was an ardent worker in the temperance movement for a number of years,[3]: 173 serving as president of the Portsmouth Gospel Temperance Union.[6]
In 1889, Prior adopted vegetarianism in 1889 on ethical grounds.[7] He became a prominent figure in the Portsmouth Vegetarian Society, also serving as president.[3]: 146 and frequently delivered lectures on the subject.[8] He also served as Chairman of the Committee of the Vegetarian Federal Union.[9] From 1901 to 1903, he acted as honorary solicitor for the Order of the Golden Age.[10][11]
Criminal charges
[edit]In 1904, Prior was charged with misappropriating client funds during bankruptcy proceedings.[5] He was subsequently sentenced to five years penal servitude.[12]
Personal life and death
[edit]Prior married Clara Gertrude Wilkin on 4 January 1880, at the parish church of Gaywood, King's Lynn.[4] Clara, a devoted vegetarian, shared her lifestyle with her husband. Together, they raised nine children, all of whom adhered to a vegetarian diet.[3]: 173 Clara died in 1918 at the age of 67.[13]
Prior died in Brentford, Middlesex, at the age of 81, in the second quarter of 1937.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Births Dec 1855". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ The Chichester Papers. 1959. p. 34.
- ^ a b c d Forward, Charles Walter (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London; Manchester: The Ideal Publishing Union; The Vegetarian Society.
- ^ a b "Marriages". The Hampshire Advertiser. 10 March 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Drew Clients' Money". Evening Dispatch. 9 November 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Blue Ribbon Official Gazette and Gospel Temperance Herald. 1883. p. 275.
- ^ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 95.
- ^ The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger. Vol. IX–Third series. London: F. Pitman. 1883. p. 100.
- ^ "Vegetarian Federal Union 1889-1911". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 6 (10). 1901.
- ^ "The Order of the Golden Age" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 8 (9). 1903.
- ^ "Solicitor Sent to Penal Servitude". The Wells Journal. 1 December 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Deaths Mar 1918". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "Deaths Jun 1937". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- 1855 births
- 1937 deaths
- 19th-century English clergy
- 19th-century English lawyers
- 20th-century English Christian clergy
- 20th-century English criminals
- 20th-century English lawyers
- British notaries
- Clergy from Portsmouth
- English solicitors
- English temperance activists
- English Unitarian ministers
- English vegetarianism activists
- English white-collar criminals
- Lawyers from Portsmouth
- People associated with the Order of the Golden Age
- People from Chichester