William Jaffray (6 March 1832 – 29 September 1896[1]) was an English-born publisher and politician in Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada.

[2] In 1844, Peter Jaffray immigrated to the Goderich area of Canada West, hoping to become a gentleman farmer.

The Dumfries Courier began publication in the summer of 1844[6]: 196  and shared its name with another contemporary newspaper which was published in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

The Courier's founder and editor, Ben Hearle, was described in one account as "easy-going, genial but shiftless,"[6]: 196  and relied heavily on the Jaffray family for the publication of his newspaper.

Instead, in 1846, Jaffray and his sons (including William) began publishing their own newspaper, the Galt Reporter.

In 1853, Ainslie sold the Reformer to James Young, a local politician and newspaperman who later joined George Brown's Liberal Party and represented Waterloo South as a member of the 1st Canadian Parliament in 1867.

[4] Peter began involving his sons more extensively in the newspaper, with William joining his father as a full partner in 1851.

[7] Her father, James Jackson, a clothier, had emigrated with his family from Scotland, first arriving in New York City on 29 May 1835, only shortly after Agnes' first birthday.

The family immigrated to Canada in 1838, arriving in North Dumfries shortly before the death of her mother, Mary Ann Browning, in October 1838.