DOBSON, John B. 1810-1894

DOBSON, SOVAON, WEBSTER, GOOD, STREETER, THOMPSON

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 5/18/2013 at 16:53:45

[History of Black Hawk County, 1904]

John B. Dobson was born January 10, 1810, in County Armagh, Ireland, and came with his wife [Ann (Webster) Sovaon] to America in 1834. They made the voyage on a sailing vessel, which made the good record for that time, of seven weeks on the water.

Mr. Dobson remained four months at Montreal, Canada, and then moved to Clinton County, New York, where he lived until 1839, following his trade of weaver. His desire, however, was to get to the West and secure some of the virgin lands in the fertile regions, where he could rear his children to agricultural pursuits. Gradually he made his way westward, going from New York State to Fairfield County, Ohio, where he worked at his trade in the winter and farmed in the summer until 1861, when he proceeded to Montgomery County, Indiana. After three years in the Hossier State, he again traveled to the west and in the spring of 1854, reached Black Hawk County, Iowa.

The household goods were transported in two wagons from Warren, Illinois, to East Waterloo Township. Here he bought the east half of the northeast quarter of section 9. This was then little but a wilderness, no roads having been yet surveyed. He quickly put up a log cabin, the family cheerfully accepted the pioneer conditions, his children assisted to the best of their ability and Mr. Dobson prospered accordingly. The log cabin served for several years as a home, but then gave way to a better structure. He finally acquired a whole half section of land and carried on general farming.

Four children were born to them: Thomas; Elizabeth, wife of Edward Streeter, of Cedar Falls; William, of Waterloo; and Jane, who died at the age of 18 months.

The mother of this family died April 1, 1843, and Mr. Dobson married his second wife, Emily Good, who was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and died in October 1900. The following named children were born to the second union: Amos, deceased; Alice, wife of William Thompson, of Polk County, Missouri; Wesley, of Charlton, Iowa; Abraham, deceased; Frank, a shoemaker of Gibson City, Illinois; and Eunice, who died young. Mr. and Mrs. Dobson were Methodists.

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John B. Dobson died in 1894 and is buried at Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.