William Raybould was a miner, merchant and political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Nanaimo in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1882 to 1886.

Raybould came to Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 with his wife, the former Phoebe Shakespeare, in 1864 from Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In 1866, he opened a menswear store, the Nanaimo Emporium, in partnership with his brother-in-law Noah

Noah Shakespeare

Noah Shakespeare was a Canadian politician from British Columbia noted for his involvement in the anti-Chinese movement....

. He served as a member of the first Nanaimo

Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...

city council in 1875. He worked twenty years as pit head for a mine operated by the Vancouver Coal Company. Later in life, he assisted his wife with the management of her millinery shop. He died after falling from a wharf behind the shop while the tide was out, apparently investigating a noise from the shop. Raybould was 50 at the time.