John Philip Roblin lived in Prince Edward County his entire life. As a young man, he first settled in Ameliasburgh Township, clearing land and farming, then moved to Hallowell Township and finally settled at Picton in 1858.[1]
Roblin represented Prince Edward County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1830 to 1836. He was elected twice, in the elections of 1830 and 1836. He was a supporter of the Reform movement of Upper Canada, following the lead of Reformers Marshall Spring Bidwell and Peter Perry, the members of the Legislative Assembly from the neighbouring Lennox and Addington County. All three were defeated in the election in 1836, when the Tories won control of the Assembly.[1][2] Although he was a supporter of the Reform movement, he did not support the radical approach which resulted in the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837. Instead, as a captain of the 2nd Battalion of Prince Edward militia, he commanded a troop of cavalry in the winter of 1837–1838.[1]
He resigned his seat in 1846 to become county registrar, crown lands agent and customs collector at Picton.[5] He also rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the local militia and warden for Prince Edward District. Roblin was a staunch Wesleyan Methodist. He was a member of the senate of Victoria College at Cobourg, Ontario, from approximately 1848 to 1863.[1]
His cousin, David Roblin, served two terms as a member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, from 1854 to 1861. John Philip and David became disillusioned with the Reformers of the 1840s and 1850s. John Philip stated that George Brown, one of the leaders of the Reformers in the 1850s, was too moderate, and was "working for the Tories."[1]
^Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841-67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 76, 93–98.
