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Henry Dobbyn |
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Elizabeth Bobier |
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Henry Dobbyn★ was born in Ireland in about 1797 or 1798, according to
the 1851 and 1861 census records, although the death certificate for his son,
James Dobbyn, stated that his father, Henry, was born in Canada. He was a
brother of Richard Dobbyn, who was born on February 22, 1794 in County Wexford,
Ireland WO1. Richard married Maria Bobier
in County Kilkenny, Ireland on April 20, 1815, and settled in Euphemia, Ontario
in about 1825 WO1 or during the summer of 1826 EL1. Henry’s age at the time of his death, seventy-three in
1871 ON1, indicates that his birth occurred about 1798. Henry
married Elizabeth Bobier, perhaps around the year
1815 WO1, although he would have been still a teenager in that
year.
Henry and Elizabeth
immigrated by the year 1820, for in that year their daughter, Jane, was born in
Canada. His death notice stated that he emigrated from Ireland to Canada in
1816, settled in Port Talbot in 1820, and later relocated to Howard Township MC3. Port Talbot is on the coast of Lake Erie, about
thirty-eight miles northeast of Howard Township. A petition for land, dated
February 7, 1839, and the reply, dated March 14, 1839, stated UP1:
To His Excellency Sir George Arthur K.C.H. [Knight
Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order] Lieutenant Governor of the Province
of Upper Canada, And Major General Commanding Her Majesty’s Forces therein
&c., &c., &c. In Council
The Petition of Henry Dobbyn, of the Township of Howard, Farmer;
Humbly Sheweth;
That your Petitioner was located by the Honourable Colonel Talbot, in the year 1818 [the last digit
in this year was written over, and the year could have stated 1815, 1816, or
1818] on a lot of 200 acres of Land in the said Township of Howard, liable to
settlement duties, which he has performed, and is ready to pay the Fees that
may be required.
Wherefore your Petitioner prays that your Excellency will
be pleased to grant him the said Lot; And your Petitioner as in duty bound will
ever pray.
Port Talbot
7th February 1839
In Council 14th March 1839
Ordered that henry Dobbyn shall receive a
Grant of two hundred acres of land
Regulations 6th July 1804.
Eight pounds four shillings and one Penny
Sterling
The South half of Lot No 11 in the 11th Concession and The North half of Lot No 11 in the 12 Concession of the Township
of Howard wherein the Petitioner has been Located and performed the Settlement
duties as Certified by Col Talbot are free from difficulty and may be described
if it be Your Excellencys pleasure
The names of Henry
Dobbyn and Richard Dobbyn were written fairly close to
each other on the 1851 agricultural census, and Richard was probably Henry’s
son. Henry lived on Concession Eleven and Twelve, and perhaps on part of lot
eleven and the entirety of lot twelve. The column with the heading “Lot or part
of Lot” stated “P11&11”, but the ink may have faded, and this may have actually stated “P11&12”, which would indicate that the
Dobbyn family owned the twelfth lot, and part of the eleventh lot. Henry owned
186 acres, of which seventy-five acres were cultivated and one hundred eleven
acres were woodland or wild. Of the cultivated acres, forty-five acres were
cropland, twenty-eight were for pasture, and two acres were used as an orchard
or a garden. Twenty-one of the forty-five acres of cropland were used to grow
wheat. The Dobbyn family cared for six bulls, oxen, or steers, six “milch
cows”, eight calves or heifers, three horses, thirty sheep, and ten pigs.
At the time of the
1851 census, everyone in his family had some sort of
occupation, aside for eight-year- old Maria. Fourteen-year-old Eliza was a
servant, and twelve-year-old Joseph was a laborer. He and his family lived in a
one-story frame house in 1851, but by the time of the 1861 census, they had
either moved or added onto their home, because in that year their frame home
was one and one-half stories. The 1861 census recorded that he and his family
members were “E Methodist”, and his death record stated that he was “M
Episcopal” ON1, which reveals that the Dobbyn family was of the
Methodist Episcopal faith. The former township of Howard, Kent County was fused
with other towns and townships, and is now known as Chatham-Kent, Ontario.
He sold his farm to
his grandson, John Wesley Gosnell, in 1868, but the terms of this sale included
the provision that Henry would be permitted to retain the carriage house,
woodshed, one room in the east end of the house, one berth in the stable, room
for two tons of hay, and twenty-four apple trees, for the duration of his life WO1.
“Henary”
Dobbyn was enumerated on page “D” of the 1871 census record for Howard,
Bothwell, Ontario, which was a special record for those residents who had died
within the previous twelve months. A record of his death stated that he died of
“Exposure to Cold & Hemiplegia” on January 28, 1871 in Howard, Kent County ON1. Hemiplegia is usually triggered by a stroke; it is a
condition in which a brain lesion causes partial or one-sided paralysis, and
Henry’s death notice did state that he died of apoplexy MC3, a cerebral stroke caused by a hemorrhage. He was
seventy-three years old at the time of his death ON1. Henry was probably buried at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery
in Orford Township, Kent County, Ontario, because
according to his death notice, he was buried in the Gosnell neighborhood MC3.
He wrote his will on
September 29, 1869, which was witnessed by John McDiarmid and Isabell
McDiarmid, who may have been siblings, as Isabell was described in a petition
dated February 8, 1871 as a spinster ON2. Archibald McDiarmid
of Howard Township, who was one of Henry’s executors to his last will and
testament, wrote a petition to the Surrogate Court of Kent County on February
8, 1871 regarding “the goods of Henry Dobbyn, deceased” ON2. This petition stated that Henry “died on or about the
twenty eighth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and seventy one at the north half of lot number Eleven
in the Twelfth concession of the Township of Howard in the said County of Kent”
ON2. Another petition to the Surrogate Court of Kent County
with the same date, also made by Archibald McDiarmid, reiterated the same
information, but added that John Unsworth, Henry Dobbyn’s other executor to his
will, wished to renounce the probate of the will ON2. Archibald stated, “the value of the personal estate and
effects of the said deceased… are of or about the value of Two thousand
dollars” ON2. In a separate petition, dated February 7, 1871, John
Unsworth renounced his right and title to the probate and execution of the will
and administration of the personal estate and effects of Henry Dobbyn ON2. The will of Henry Dobbyn has been transcribed below ON2:
I, Henry Dobbyn of the township of Howard, in the County
of Kent, in the Dominion of Canada, do make this, my last Will and Testament,
in the manner and form following; that is to say,
Item. First, I give and bequeath to my daughter Caroline
Gosnell, (married woman,) all my household property, consisting of beds and
bedding, chairs, tables &c.,
Item, Second, I Give and bequeath the rest of my personal
property consisting of Notes of hand, and cash, to my two sons James Dobbyn and
Henry Dobbyn and to my three grandchildren, Namely, Lorin
Scarlett (Grandson,) and Rilla [according to the list of disbursements of the
various portions of Henry’s estate, her name was Maurilla]
Scarlett and Maria Catharine Scarlett (Grand daughters,)
children of my deceased daughter Maria Scarlett, to be equally divided between
them as follows, namely, the portion bequeathed to my said grandchildren to be
paid over to them when they have become twenty-one years of age, without
interest. I furthermore desire will and order that a suitable head stone be placed
at my grave and funeral expenses be paid, but of my personal
property; the remainder to be divided as above. Lastly, I hereby appoint
John Unsworth Esquire and Archibald McDermaid
Esquire, both of the township of Howard, aforesaid, my
executors of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills
by me made.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal
29th day of September 1869 in year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Because he was a
brother to Richard Dobbyn, who was from County Wexford, then he was also
probably related to other Dobbyns who were mentioned
in relation to the Wexford Rebellion, whether through their own active
participation or, as will be demonstrated below, as victims of violent acts
perpetrated on themselves or their loved ones: William Dobbyn of Templenacrow AR2 (perhaps Templenacroha)
Patrick and Elizabeth Dobbyn and their sons, William, Richard, and Samuel, who
were of Oldcourt TE2, William Dobbyn of Myster IR1, and James and Elizabeth Dobbyn of Oldcourt
IR1. Henry’s death notice stated that his father was one of
the victims who were burned in “Schnlabouge Barn” in
the Irish Rebellion of 1798 MC3. This was the Scullabogue
Barn.
The Wexford Rebellion
was a part of the larger Irish Rebellion of 1798 CU12, HA24. The complexities of the Irish Rebellion cannot
adequately be summarized in a few sentences, but for
the purpose of understanding the context of the Wexford Rebellion, a greatly
abridged version should suffice. A religious dispute began to emerge in 1784, when
Catholics aligned themselves with the agrarian party called the Defenders, and
Protestants took the side of a party which was first called the Peep o’ Day
Boys, and later called the Orange Society CU12. The acts committed
by men of the Orange Society were “one of the principal causes of the rebellion
of 1798” CU12. Later, in 1791, Catholics and Protestants of Ireland
attempted to work together to seek equal treatment from Parliament, and they
formed the United Irishmen Society, which proposed three resolutions CU12:
1.
That the weight of English influence in the government of
this country is so great, as to require a cordial union among all the people of
Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential to the preservation of our
liberties and the extension of our commerce.
2.
That the sole constitutional mode by which this influence
can be opposed, is by a complete and radical reform of the representation of
the people in Parliament.
3.
That no reform is just which does not include every
Irishman of every religious persuasion.
As the British
government became aware of the growing Irish insurrection, in 1798 they took
brutal, bloody action in Dublin and County Kildare to stamp it out, and the
insurgents retaliated in like manner CU12. County Wexford
initially remained unaffected by the rebellion, but after the North Cork
Militia began a campaign of torture and slaughter on its peaceful residents, some of the Protestant Wexford men chose to join the
revolution CU12. Other Protestant men were “arrested on suspicion” CU12. The state of the people in Ireland at
this time was fairly chaotic; it was Catholic against Protestant, poor
tenant against wealthy landowner, and United Irishman against Loyalist, with a
good amount of overlap between the groups CU12. In the aftermath of
the Battle of New Ross, the barn at Scullabogue,
which was utilized as a prison for an indeterminate number of individuals, but
who in estimation totaled eighty to two hundred people, was set fire by
insurgents from Corbet Hill HA24, CU12. In addition to those who were burned to death in the
barn, thirty-seven were piked or shot CU12.
Six individuals of
the Dobbyn family were burned to death in the Scullabogue
Barn Massacre, and these included William Dobbyn of Myster,
along with his father and two brothers, Patrick Dobbyn of Oldcourt,
and Elizabeth Dobbyn, the widow of James Dobbyn, who was also of Oldcourt IR1. On June 1, 1798 at Oldcourt
in the parish of Adamstown, Thomas Cavenagh seized
William, Richard, and Samuel Dobbyn, who were the three sons of Patrick and
Elizabeth Dobbyn, and imprisoned them at Scullabogue TE2. The following day, Thomas Cavenagh
returned for Patrick Dobbyn, and incarcerated him at Scullabogue
as well TE2. Patrick Dobbyn’s wife, Elizabeth, pleaded with Father
Shallow, who was the parish priest of Adamstown and Newbawn,
to use his influence to release her sons and husband TE2. Father Shallow told her that his life would be in
danger if he approached the rebel camp, and he refused to go, but he did free a
different prisoner, who was the son of Mr. Lett of Kilgibbon
TE2. The deposition given by Elizabeth Dobbyn on January 1,
1799 before Edward Carr, Deputy-Sovereign, at Ross in
County Wexford, stated TE2:
County of Wexford, to wit. Elizabeth Dobbyn, of
Old-court, in the parish of Adamstown, and said county, widow, came before me
this first day of January, 1799, and made oath on the Holy Evangelists, That,
on Friday, the first day of June last, her three sons, William, Richard, and
Samuel, were taken prisoners from her house by Thomas Cavenagh,
of Old-court aforesaid; that on Saturday, the second of June, her husband,
Patrick Dobbyn, was taken prisoner by the said Thomas Cavenagh,
aided by William Power of Bruchurrow, in said parish,
and another person unknown to Deponent. That on Sunday, the third of June last,
Deponent went to Scullabogue, where she saw her
husband and three sons confined in a dirty pig-yard; that, at their desire, she
went to look for Michael Downes, a rebel captain, to endeavor to procure their
release, and to Mr. Shallow the parish-priest, for the same purpose; that
Deponent could not meet Michael Downes, but found Mr. Shallow at his own house;
that Deponent requested the said Shallow to procure the release of her husband
and sons, to which Shallow replied, “That he would not go near the rebel camp;
that, if he did, he should be in as much danger as the said Patrick Dobbyn and
his sons.” Said Shallow then asked deponent how many
of her people were in? she replied, her husband and three sons were confined by
the Rebels; upon which said Shallow shuddered and seemed to be shocked, by
which deponent conjectured immediately that her husband and children would be
put to death, and that said Shallow knew what would happen. That deponent
went-back, on said third of June, from Mr. Shallow’s house to Scullabogue, where she found her husband and sons removed
into the barn, which was full of prisoners, crowded as close as they could
stand, and told them that said Shallow had refused to come to Scullabogue; whereupon said Patrick Dobbyn, his sons and
the other prisoners, lamented and said they had no hopes of their lives. That
deponent continued at Scullabogue said day until
sun-set, during which time one of her sons, and a woman who was a prisoner,
called for a draught of water, and one of the rebel guards asked them if they
would drink salt water, and said, “Damnation to you, ye orange dogs, down with
your prayers.” And a rebel woman said, “Do they want water? give them poison!”
That on Saturday, the ninth of June last, deponent went to Scullabogue
to look for the bodies of her husband and sons, who, she had been told, were
burnt in the barn on Tuesday, the fifth of June. That she found the barn burnt
and full of dead bodies, all in a standing posture, some
with their limbs burnt-off, and others with their bowels hanging-out, and
others with their faces and features disfigured with the fire. That deponent
could not distinguish the bodies of her husband and sons from the other dead.
That about two or three nights after the said ninth of June last, as deponent
was in bed with two young children, her house at Old-court was entered by a
great number of men armed with pikes, who said they came to search for Orangemen,
having heard that deponent harboured them: deponent
replied, that there were no men there; that her husband and sons were taken
from her. They took a light and searched the house and out offices, and then
went-away. That in the 19th day of September last, deponent’s house, at Old-court
aforesaid, was entered by four men armed with pistols, who murdered there
Shepherd Parslow, of Brucchurrow,
in said parish, who had gone out of Ross to save his harvest at said Brucchurrow, and beat deponent and broke her collar-bone,
and struck and cut deponent’s mother, an old woman almost eighty years old.
That, on deponent’s asking them if it was not a sin to use a poor Christian so
cruelly? they replied she was no Christian, and who had made her a Christian?
they then robbed this Deponent of what they pleased to take from her, and went-away.
Aside from the loss
of life was a loss of property, and William Dobbyn and Elizabeth Dobbyn were
both were claimants in the 1798 Wexford Rebellion AR2. William Dobbyn of Templenacrow
in County Wexford stated that he lost his house, horse, cow, pig, and other
provisions in this uprising, and he claimed a sum of forty-one pounds, three
shillings, and nine pence AR2. Elizabeth Dobbyn, a widow of Oldcourt,
County Wexford (and almost certainly the widow of Patrick), claimed a sum of
forty-three pounds, two shillings, and two pence, and stated that she sustained
a loss of cattle, bank notes, corn, potatoes, and hay AR2.
·
1851 Canada Census: lived in Howard, Kent County, Canada
West (Ontario).
·
1861 Canada Census: lived in Howard, Kent County, Canada
West (Ontario).
Elizabeth Bobier
★
(Gregory, Martha) was born in
Ireland, according to the death certificate for her son, James Dobbyn, and the
1851 and 1861 census records, which also recorded her age as fifty-one and
sixty, respectively CA85, CA86, indicating a birth
year of about 1800 or 1801. Elizabeth was the mother of Caroline, Jane, James,
Henry, Richard, Arthur, George, Eliza Ann, Joseph, and Maria. She outlived six
of her children, and she lost two children in the year 1852.
Caroline Dobbyn was
born about 1819 in Canada CA85, CA86 or on September 20, 1819 RE16,
WO1 in Dunwich
Township, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada WO1 or
at Tyrconnell in Elgin County ON1. She married Joseph Gosnell WO1, ON20
probably sometime before 1836, as their child, Maryann, was fifteen in 1851 CA85. “Caraline” CA85 or Caroline CA86 and
Joseph Gosnell and their children lived in Orford
Township, Kent County, Ontario in 1851 and 1861 CA85, CA86. She died at age “80 yrs 3 mos” on January 13, 1900 in
Orford, Kent County, Ontario ON1.
Jane Dobbyn was born about 1820 in Canada CA85 or on October 9, 1820 RE16. She
was enumerated with her parents at age thirty-one in Howard Township, Kent
County, Ontario CA85, and she died at age thirty-two in July 1852 WO1. Her
gravestone at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford
Township, Kent County, Ontario states that she was the “daughter of Henrey & Elizabeth Dobbyn Who died July 13-1852 Aged 32
Years” (a photo of which can be viewed on the Find a Grave website). James Dobbyn was born in April 1822 UN14. Caroline, Jane, and James RE16. These first three children, Caroline, Jane, and James, were
all baptized on June 26, 1822 by Reverend Dr. Stewart, a visiting missionary,
at Dunwich, Ontario, and their sponsors were
Alexander Weldon, John M. Farland, and Martha “Bowbeer” RE16.
Henry Dobbyn may
have been born December 21, 1823 MI21.
Census records indicate that he was born about 1823 CA85, 1824 UN11, UN13, or
1825 UN12 in Canada UN11, UN12, UN13. He
probably married Katherine McDem… MI21 (Catherine McDiarmid WO1) about
1848, as his death certificate stated that he was twenty-five at the time of
his first marriage MI21. The
Berrien County, Michigan death certificate for his daughter, Isabelle Dobbyn,
stated that she was born on March 25, 1852 to Henry Dobbyn of Canada and
Kathrine McDem… and died on July 16, 1907 in Coloma,
Berrien County MI21. Henry and Catherine
Dobin, and their one-year-old daughter, “Serah”, lived in Aldborough,
Elgin County, Ontario in 1851 CA85. Aldborough was also the township in which James Dobbyn
lived CA85. Henry and Catherine Dobbyn and their children, ten-year-old
Sarah J., seven-year-old Isabel, and ten-month-old Franklin, lived in Deerfield
Township, Van Buren County, Michigan in 1860 UN11. Catherine probably died by 1865, because a marriage
certificate for “Henery dobyn”,
age forty-one of “Dierfield” and Miss “L.M. Ainsworth”,
age twenty-six, recorded their marriage in Watervliet, Berrien County, Michigan
on January 19, 1865 MI2.
His second wife’s surname may have been Ainsworth MI2 or Randall MI21. The
Berrien County, Michigan death certificate for his daughter, Cora Stainbrook,
stated that she was born on September 18, 1873 to Henry Dobbyn and Lydia
Randall, and died on May 22, 1928 at Mercy Hospital in Benton Harbor, Berrien
County MI21. Henry and Lydia Dobbin lived in Watervliet, Berrien County,
Michigan with seventeen-year-old Isabel and four-year-old Ida in 1870 UN12. In 1880, they remained in Watervliet with one addition to the
family, seven-year-old Cora Dobbyn UN13.
The Berrien County, Michigan death certificate for Henry Dobbins stated that he
was born to Henry Dobbins and Eliza Bobier in Canada,
and he died at age seventy-four years, two months, and fifteen days on March 15,
1898 in Watervliet, Berrien County due to brain disease and a word which
appears to state “Execution” or “Execrntion” MI21. According to his age at the time of his death, he may have
been born on December 21, 1823.
Richard Dobbyn was born about 1826 in Canada WO1, CA85 and
married Sarah Lee WO1. Richard and Sarah Dobbyn lived near Henry and Elizabeth
in Howard Township, Kent County at the time of the 1851 census CA85. He died
at about age thirty-two on February 27, 1858 WO1. Arther Dobbyn was born about 1831 in Canada,
and he lived with Henry and Elizabeth Dobbyn in 1851 CA85. Arthur
died at about age twenty-one on March 27, 1852 in Kent County, Ontario WO1. George Dobbyn was born about 1834 WO1, but
he was not enumerated with his parents in the 1851 Canada Census. A gravestone
for George, located at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford
Township, Kent County, Ontario states that he died at age twenty-one on October
30, 1855 (a photo may be found on the Find
a Grave website). Eliza A. Dobbyn was born
about 1837 in Canada CA85. A gravestone for Eliza Ann, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth
Dobbyn, states that she died at age eighteen on April 10, 1856; it is located
at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford Township, Kent
County, Ontario (a photo may be found on the Find a Grave website).
Joseph Dobbyn was born about 1839 CA85, 1840 CA86, ON3, or September 1839 WO1 in Canada CA85,
CA86. Joseph Dobbin, age twenty of
Howard Township, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Dobbin, married Nancy Grout,
age nineteen of Orford Township, the daughter of John
and Margaret Grout, on February 1, 1859 in Kent County, Ontario ON3. They lived in Howard Township, Kent County in 1861 CA86. Joseph’s gravestone at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford Township, Kent County, Ontario states that he died
at age twenty-three years and eleven months on October 22, 1863 (a photo may be
found on the Find a Grave website). Maria Dobbyn CA85 (or Mariah Dobins CA86) was
born about 1843 or 1845 CA86 in Canada CA85,
CA86. She married James Scarlett
on December 26, 1861 and died at age twenty-five on April 5, 1868 WO1. A gravestone at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford Township, Kent County, Ontario which is sunk into
the ground at states “Mariah, Wife of James Scarlett” (a photo may be found on
the Find a Grave website).
Elizabeth
Dobbyn died before September 29, 1869, as she was not named in Henry’s will,
and further, her name was not listed on the 1871 census. She was said to have
died in 1864 and was buried at Gosnell-Highgate Cemetery in Orford
Township, Kent County, Ontario WO1. A gravestone
located at that cemetery was photographed on August 14, 2015 by Linda Clark,
and the inscription on the stone states “In memory of Elizabeth Wife of Henry
Dobbyn. Died May 1. 1864 Aged 61 Yrs.”
·
1851 Canada Census: lived in Howard, Kent County, Canada
West (Ontario).
·
1861 Canada Census: lived in Howard, Kent County, Canada
West (Ontario).
