David Roblin (April 19, 1812–March 1, 1863) was a lumber merchant and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born in Adolphustown Township in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1812, the son of

John Roblin John Roblin (May 2, 1774 – February 28, 1813) was a farmer and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Smiths Clove, Orange County, New York in 1774. He was the son of Philip Roblin, a United Empire Loyalist, and Elizabeth Miller. A ...

. He settled in Richmond Township and opened a general store there in 1832. In 1841, he moved to

Napanee Greater Napanee is a town in Eastern Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston and the county seat of Lennox and Addington County. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte. Greater Nap ...

. He served as reeve for the township from 1841 to 1857 and warden for the united counties of Frontenac, Lennox and

Addington Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Adding ...

from 1849 to 1857. Over time, he expanded his business interests into the trade in timber. He took advantage of his political connections to support legislation in favour of the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

and received a contract to build a railway bridge and an appointment as arbitrator for the railway company. In 1854, he was elected to the

5th Parliament of the Province of Canada The 5th Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from 1854 to November 1857. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in the Province of Canada in July 1854. Sessions were held in Quebec City until 1856 and then in Toronto. In 1 ...

representing Lennox and Addington; he was re-elected to the 6th Parliament. Although he was a Reformer, he helped prop up the

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

coalition during his time in office. Roblin was defeated in the next general election by

Augustus Hooper Augustus Frederick Garland Hooper (1814-December 30, 1866) was a merchant, timber dealer and political figure in Canada West. He was born in Devonshire, England in 1814 and came to Quebec City with his family in 1819. In 1843, he moved to Newburgh ...

and, having suffered financially from a collapse of the timber market in 1857, retired from politics. He died at Napanee in 1863.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1812 births 1863 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West {{UpperCanada-politician-stub