Newfound Dobbs Cousins

Since my last post in November, I have been busy finding living descendants of William Drewery Dobbs, the subject of my last posting. I have been quite successful.

Bev DeWeese is a descendant of Claudius E Dobbs (CEW Dobbs's younger brother), born in 1858 through his son, Claudius E Dobbs, Jr. born in 1882. Claudius,Jr. had a daughter named Mary Veronica who was born in 1924. She is Bev's mother. Bev was born in 1948 and her sister, Veronica, was born in 1942. They live in Harford, Maryland about an hour north of Baltimore. She has provided me with as many relatives names as she can remember. She has also been a great source of Dobbs stories which I will blog about in the future. We are planning to meet soon and visit William Drewery Dobbs's grave in the Old Baltimore Cemetery on North St.

Gordon Willoughby Simpson, born 1922,is the son of Mary Ruth Dobbs, born 1892, daughter of Willoughby Barrett Dobbs, Sr. born in 1861. Gordon lives in Spokane, Washington with his 2nd wife Fern. His first wife, Jean Wiley, died in 1965 along with their daughters Jill and Becky, in a tragic car/train accident. Gordon has a surviving son, Gordon, Jr. born in 1950, two granddaughters, Leigh and Wiley, and three great-grandchildren. Gordon's family saved everything - pictures, greeting cards, letters, newspaper clippings, awards, wallet contents, dog tags, and more. He was so happy that I found him because he wants his history preserved and he knew his son wouldn't be as interested in saving all the items that were carefully collected over 100 years. He has sent me eight boxes of family treasures, which not only gave me insight into his family, but provided me with many more names of relatives to post to my growing list on Family Tree Maker. The most treasured item is a picture of Willoughby Barrett Dobbs, Sr. at the age of ten in 1871.

Juanita Dobbs Williams, born in 1929, is the descendant of Leslie Edwin Dobbs, born in 1864 through his son, John Jasper Dobbs, born in 1908. She also has a sister, Joanne Dobbs Traylor, born in 1947. They both live in Garland, Texas where her family owns the Williams Funeral Home, a business that has been owned and operated by the family for over 100 years. Juanita has provided the names of as many relatives as she can remember along with some very colorful stories. Juanita is now 80 years old and recently lost her husband. We speak on the phone frequently and she's very lively with a great sense of humor.

Frances Eleanor Dobbs Marler, born in 1945, is a descendant of Gilbert Dobbs through his son, Nelson Barrett Dobbs, born in 1907. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia and currently lives in Humble, Texas with her husband Bill. She found me through this blog and we have spoken on the phone a few times and exchanged pictures and genealogy information. She will be visiting the DC area in October, 2009, and we have made plans to hook up and swap more information. She has been a valuable source of information for her branch of the family which has been the most elusive so far since there are so few descendants.

Willoughby Barrett Dobbs, III, born 1948, is a descendant of Willoughby Barrett Dobbs, Sr, born 1861, through his son Willoughby Barrett Dobbs, Jr. born in 1882, and his son, John Richard Dobbs, born in 1924. Will lives in Connecticut and we met a year ago in April of 2008 when he was visiting his daughter who attends law school in DC. I call him every time I find a new exciting bit of information about his branch of the family and about every new cousin I find. He has been a valuable source of information for his branch of the family and he plans to visit in July to see all of the Dobbs artifacts that Gordon Willoughby Simpson has been so gracious to bestow upon me.

Now that I have contacts with descendants of all four Dobbs brothers, Willoughby, Leslie, Charles, and Gilbert, I have a much more complete genealogical picture to share with all of you. There are many interesting characters in this Dobbs clan. Stay tuned. You may find yourself in some of the stories.