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George Rolph

Early life
George was born on April 7, 1794, in Thornbury, Gloucestershire. His parents were Thomas Rolph and Frances Petty. Rolph's parents emigrated to Canada in 1811 and brought Rolph, his brother Thomas, Jr. and her sister Mary Ann with them. The family settled in homesteads in Les Cèdres near Montreal, Lower Canada. Friends of his father described the possibility of better homesteads in Upper Canada, so his father bought land in Charlotteville and moved the family there to manage a farm.

War of 1812
Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812, Rolph joined the newly formed 1st Regiment Norfolk Militia and was appointed as a lieutenant. In July 1812, Isaac Brock, a major-general of the British army, brought reinforcements to siege Fort Detroit, including the Norfolk militia. To convince the fort's commander, William Hull, that there were several thousand troops ready to attack, Brock had his regiments perform drills several times a day. When Hull surrendered, Brock presented Rolph with a gold medal for outstanding service during the siege.

Rolph remained with the 1st Norfolk regiment through 1814. He participated in the Battle of Lundy's Lane. At the end of the war, Rolph was nominated to receive an Upper Canada Preserved Medal for his service during the war; none of the nominees received the medal because the awarding judges could not agree on who should receive the medals.

Law career and incident
After the war, George took law classes at Osgoode Hall in York, Upper Canada. He was called to the Bar of Upper Canada in 1816 and moved to Dundas, bringing his mother to live with him. At that time, he was the second-largest landowner of the town. His family's connection to a prominent government official named Thomas Talbot allowed him to be appointed to the roles of clerk of the peace, registrar of the surrogate court and clerk of the court for Gore county in 1816. Rolph practiced law throughout the Hamilton and Ancaster region. In 1823, Rolph was appointed as captain of the 1st Regiment Gore militia.

Rolph did not associate himself with members of the region's aristocratic elite, refusing to attend galas or give toasts at public dinners. This caused other members to become hostile towards Rolph as he did not use his position to support their causes. Rolph gave asylum to a woman named Mrs. Evans, who was fleeing her abusive husband. Rumours spread that Rolph was committing adultery with Evans, even though Evans was living in a different part of the house. In June 1826 a group of men invaded his home at night, dragged him outside, and tarred and feathered him. Six were accused of being in the mob during the incident: George Gurnett, Titus Simons, James Hamilton, Alexander Robertson, Allan MacNab, and Alexander Chewett.

His brother, John Rolph, agreed to represent George in a trial against the assailants. John suggested that they wait before laying charges, and the accused bragged to members of the community about being the assailants. Rolph used this information to begin a civic action against the assailants in August 1827, suing for ₤1000 each. At the trial, the defence stated that the crime was intended to inform George Rolph of the community's opinion on his supposed adultery with Evans. The jury's verdict was for Simons and Hamilton to pay ₤20 each in damages.

Political career
George was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. He was reelected in 1828, representing Halton County. The county magistrates created a document of complaints against Rolph in his role as Clerk of the Peace. They then removed him from the role without giving Rolph a chance to respond. The legislative assembly conducted an inquiry into this event and determined that the magistrates were not proper in their conduct, recommending Rolph's reappointment to the role.

In 1829, Rolph's brother John began to focus on his medical career and gave most of his cases to Rolph.

Personal life
George married Georgianna Clement. He died in 1875.