He was born in Sophiasburgh Township in Prince Edward County, Upper Canada in 1799, the son of Prudence Platt and Philip Roblin.

[1] Roblin represented Prince Edward County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1830 to 1836.

[3] In Parliament, he supported the union of the two provinces, and generally voted as a moderate reformer, but with an independent tendency.

[4] He resigned his seat in 1846 to become county registrar, crown lands agent and customs collector at Picton.

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.