Edward Brabazon Brenton was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 and Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

.

He was born in Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, the son of James Brenton

James Brenton

James Brenton was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Onslow township from 1765 to 1770 and Halifax County from 1776 to 1785 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly ....

 and Rebecca Scott. Brenton studied law at Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

; he was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1785 and set up practice in Halifax. He married Catherine Taylor in 1791. In 1793, he was named judge advocate for the Nova Scotia military district. He was named deputy judge advocate general for British North America

British North America

British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...

 in 1799. In 1805, he was named to the Nova Scotia Council. He was appointed a revenue commissioner and surrogate to the judge for the vice admiralty court

Vice admiralty court

Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. Judges were given 5% of confiscated cargo, if they found a smuggling defendant guilty...

 in 1810. From 1811 to 1815, he served as civil secretary to George Prevost

George Prevost

Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the eldest son of Swiss French Augustine Prévost, he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784. Prévost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary...

, returning to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with Prevost. In 1825, he went to Newfoundland as colonial secretary with the new governor, Thomas John Cochrane

Thomas John Cochrane

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane GCB was an English naval officer and colonial governor.-Naval career:...

. The following year, he was named assistant judge in the Supreme Court. In 1838, he took a leave of absence from the bench due to poor health. Brenton died in England at Royal Leamington Spa at the age of 81.