William Francis Romain was a Canadian businessman and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He was a grain merchant and served as reeve of Trafalgar Township

Trafalgar Township

Trafalgar Township is a former municipality within the historic Halton County in Ontario, CanadaNamed after Cape Trafalgar where Horatio Nelson led the English fleet to victory over the Spanish and French at the Battle of Trafalgar, the township was created in 1806...

 as well as serving on the town council

Town council

A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....

 and as mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Oakville, Ontario

Oakville, Ontario

Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...

.

Romain was born in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 to parents Pere and Elizabeth Romain and was one of eight children in the family. He became the first postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

 of Brampton

Brampton

Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...

 where he was also was a grain dealer. He then moved to Oakville, and in 1847 married Esther Ann Chisolm, the daughter of William Chisholm

William Chisholm (Upper Canada politician)

William Chisholm was a farmer, businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Jordan Bay, Nova Scotia in 1788, the son of a Scottish immigrant and United Empire Loyalist who originally settled in Tryon County, New York. The family moved to Upper Canada and settled near the current...

. Romain purchased land from George King Chisholm

George King Chisholm

George King Chisholm was an Ontario farmer and political figure.He was born in Nelson Township in Upper Canada in 1814, the son of William Chisholm. He studied at Upper Canada College and moved to Hamilton, later settling in Oakville. He served in the Gore militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion...

 for development but kept some lakefront property for his own home which he lost in 1869 due to bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

. His home eventually became the Lakehurst Sanitarium in 1895.

Romain served for two years as the reeve of Trafalgar Township, and then served on the Oakville town council. He was elected as mayor of Oakville from 1863 to 1865.