His parents fled during the Glorious Revolution in Scotland; hence, he was born in exile in Blainville-sur-Orne, France.

William traveled to the New World to seek a new line of work as a fur trader since the Jacobite uprisings had ruined his entitlements as a "King Baron."

There is a chateau named after Jean Baptiste Colbert in the aforementioned French town located on the Atlantic coast; it became a safe haven beginning in 1688.

Once in the New World, William Colbert ended up marrying the Chickasaw chief's eldest daughter in order to gain more influence in his trading of furs with the native tribes.

[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all land.