I made another pass at searching for my Dobbs ancestors in 19th century newspaper archives at NewspaperArchive.com, specifically David Dobbs, a 3rd great-grandfather and his son, David Judson (D.J.) Dobbs, my great, great-grandfather, both of whom were born and raised in antebellum Georgia. What I found was little bits and pieces of the puzzle… David Dobbs (1791-1871) was an attorney-at-law and a military leader in … Continue reading Bits and Pieces

I have made yet another discovery about an ancestor of mine. This time I found a photograph and possible evidence of the commission of a felony, but first a little background is in order… When I was a kid the only tangible ancestral artifacts that we had around the house was a very old flintlock pistol and a set of walking sticks. These were items … Continue reading International Man of Mystery-Pt. 1

On July 4, 1864, the day that my great-grandfather turned five years old, the town that he lived in, Marietta Georgia, fell to Union forces following a nearly two month-long series of battles and skirmishes in the vicinity of the town. The war was literally at their doorstep but from my perspective this is where the story ended for James Monroe Dobbs and his family … Continue reading The Third Man

As I continue to scrounge through the newspaper archives I am finding all sorts interesting little tidbits about my 19th century ancestors. Specifically, my Southern ancestors on the side of my maternal grandfather, Jimmy Dobbs. One of my most recent finds regards my great, great, great-grandfather David Dobbs, a colonel in the Georgia militia and plantation owner in Cobb County Georgia. It appears that he … Continue reading Chairman David Dobbs, a Never Van Buren-er