Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 707 - 708

JAMES BLAIR DOBBIN, one of the well-to‑do and prosperous farmers of Viola Township, residing on section 34, is one of those men who thoroughly understands the business which he is pursuing, and is rapidly progressing toward a state of ample competence. He is the architect of his own fortune, having started in life with but little capital beyond his own industry and a laudable ambition to rise in the world.

              The subject of whom we write is a native of De Kalb County, Ill., born Oct. 13, 1847, and is the son of David M. and Mary Jane (French) Dobbin. When he was but an infant he had the misfortune to lose his mother, but as his father subsequently married, he was brought up in the family. He received his education in the common schools of his native county, and was given the training necessary to a successful pursuit of agriculture upon his father's farm, and remained at home engaged in helping to carry on the labors upon the homestead, until he had attained the age of twenty-seven years. Thinking it was about time that he had established a home of his own, and surrounded his domestic hearth with family ties, on the 29th of December, 1874, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah L. Carr, who was born in Washington County N. Y., Jan. 6, 1851, and is the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Carr, both of whom were natives of the same county and State. Her parents were reared among the picturesque hills of that portion of the Empire State, and Mr. Carr in early life adopted the calling of seaman, which he followed until his marriage, when he gave up his life upon the ocean, and settled down upon a farm in his native county. Growing tired of tilling the rocky soil of that part of the country, in 1856 Mr. Carr, with his family, removed to De Kalb County, Ill., where, purchasing a farm, he resumed his agricultural pursuits. His wife died there in 1880, since which time he has made his home with his children.

              To Mr. and Mrs. Carr there were born a family of four children, of whom Sarah Lucretia, the eldest one, is now Mrs. Dobbin. The others are George H., Robert A. and Mary R., the latter of whom is the wife of David Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Dobbin are the parents of five children, who have been granted to brighten their lives, and double their enjoyment. Their names are: Margaret Pearl, William David, Mary Agnes, Arthur Blair and Alice. In his political affiliations, Mr. Dobbin was formerly a Republican, but now supports the Prohibition party, and has served in the office of Township Treasurer for some time. He is an Elder of the United Presbyterian Church, and an exemplary Christian member of that communion.

              Our subject is the owner of a fertile and productive farm of 280 acres of land, which he has brought to its present highly cultivated state by the exercise of great industry, perseverance and excellent management. His improvements are of a substantial character, and everything about the place denotes prosperity and thrift. He has been quite prominently identified with the interests of the community in which he lives, and assisted materially in the development of this portion of the county. He bears a high character for sterling integrity, and his charity toward the unfortunate is unbounded.

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