Rolph was born on 4 March 1793, in Thornbury, Gloucestershire.[1] His father was Thomas Rolph, a surgeon from Grovesend.[2] His mother was Frances Petty. Rolph was their fourth child and eldest surviving son. He was baptized at Seyntemaryes parish church.[3] He moved to Cambridge in 1809 to study law and medicine at St John’s College, Cambridge, then transferred to the Inner Temple, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, to study law in 1811.[1][4]
In 1812 he travelled to Upper Canada to join his parents, who had emigrated four years prior.[5] The ship he was travelling on was to make port at New York City; while he was crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the War of 1812 began and Rolph received a special passport from American president James Madison to travel to Upper Canada. Rolph went to the Niagara River intending to continue travelling to Canada when it was safe to cross the river.[6] While waiting, he tried to solve one of Euclid‘s geometry problems; his problem-solving tactic involved drawing shapes. American authorities suspected these were sketches of Fort Niagara and arrested him. He was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Greenbush, New York. While imprisoned, he taught mathematics and grammar to other prisoners to alleviate his boredom.[7] After the 13 October 1812 Battle of Queenston Heights, American forces released him in a prisoner swap with the British and he finished his journey to Canada to live on his father’s farm in Port Talbot.[2][8]
Upon its creation in 1813, Rolph became paymaster for the 2nd Norfolk militia.[9] Rolph was sent by Thomas Talbot, the colonel in charge of the militia, to York to ask for aide from the Upper Canadian government after Americans destroyed most of the mills west of Burlington.[9] Rolph remained employed with the militia after the war, possibly because his family needed the wages to sustain themselves. The deputy inspector of accounts, a British government administrator, accused Rolph of accepting claims from officers who did not provide the appropriate vouchers. Although Rolph denied this accusation, he was considered in default to the government and his application for 800 acres (320 ha) of land as a retired officer was denied.[10] Rolph initiated an organizing committee to honour Thomas Talbot as the founder of Port Talbot and Rolph inaugurated the first celebration of the town’s creation on 21 May 1817.[11][12]
In August 1817, Rolph returned to England to solve financial problems related to his father’s estate and to obtain lawyer and medical qualifications.[13][14] In 1820 he began studying at St John’s College in Cambridge.[5] He negotiated payments from his cousin concerning the sale of property in Thornbury that belonged to their families. He used the money to enrol in Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital to study medicine and to return to study law at Trinity Hall. On 20 April 1820, he married Mary Slatter; although recorded in a wedding register, Rolph never referenced the marriage in his documents.[15]
Rolph was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1821.[12][5] In September he returned to North America, settled in Charlotteville Township,[14][16] and was called to the bar in Upper Canada.[5] He bought a farm in St. Thomas, and became a barrister.[16] He opened a law office in Vittoria and practised law and medicine concurrently.[17] In 1823 he was elected as a school trustee and moved to Dundas, the following year.[18] He would make frequent visits to York, Upper Canada, and converse with reformers and political figures William Warren Baldwin, Marshall Spring Bidwell, and Robert Baldwin about Upper Canada politics. Rolph dubbed this group “the cabinet”.[19] He worked with Charles Duncombe to provide medical services in Upper Canada. In 1823 Rolph and Duncombe opened a medical school called the Talbot Dispensary in St. Thomas.[20][21] It closed after two years of operation.[22]