Harvey Dobson's Legacy

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Harvey's place in the Callin Family History

This week, we are continuing with Harvey, the second of seven children born to Joseph and Lucina (Scott) Dobson.

     II. Harvey N Dobson (1866–1905)

Harvey was born in March 1866 and grew up in Burritt Township, Illinois. He married Carrie P Ackra (1870–1935) in 1888. Carrie was born in Norway on 12 September 1870; her parents, Albert Ackra (1837–1922) and Carrie Johnson (1848–1921), brought their family to the United States around 1882.

Harvey and Carrie had two daughters and two sons in Rockford before Harvey died in about 1905, before he turned 40. I have been unable to find any record of Harvey's death to pin down the precise date or a cause of death.

Carrie remarried Walter A Holcomb (1860–1932) on 1 May 1907, and they lived in Rockford for the rest of their lives, raising the younger Dobson children and another son, Walter Holcomb, Jr. (b. 1913). Walter died on 30 April 1902, and Carrie on 7 August 1935. Walter is buried in Silver Creek Cemetery, located in Leaf River, Ogle County, Illinois.

     A. Eva May Dobson (1889–1983) was born on 19 December 1889 in Illinois, probably Rockford. She married Harland Roscoe Snyder (1881–1942), son of John W Snyder (1847–1929) and Elizabeth Thomas (1849–1937), on her 18th birthday in 1907. They lived in Stephenson County, Illinois, not far from where Harland was born in Lancaster township on 14 March 1881.

The young couple had three children: two sons and a daughter. Harland worked for the Henney Motor Company for 25 years, but he died unexpectedly on 28 January 1942, a week after having an appendectomy. Eva survived him by 41 years and remained in their home on 10 South Albert Street, in Freeport, Illinois, supporting herself by working as a laundress for the Sanitary Laundry & Dry Cleaners. She remained in Freeport until at least 1960.

Eva died on 21 October 1983 in Sacramento County, California, and was buried near Harland in Oakland Cemetery in Freeport, Illinois. She was 93 years old.

     1. Ralph H Snyder (1909–1987) was born on 4 September 1909, in Freeport, Illinois. He married Margaret F Strohacker (1903–1982) on 26 February 1938. Margaret was born on 3 November 1903 to the late William Strohacker (1872–1936) and Matilda Neberman (1875–1935).

The couple lived in Freeport where Ralph worked as a machine operator for the Fairbanks Morse Engine company. Margaret died in December 1982 in Freeport at the age of 79, and Ralph died in June 1987 at the age of 77. They are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Freeport.

Seabees recruits · Wed, Aug 25, 1943 – Page 4 · Freeport Journal-Standard (Freeport, Illinois) · Newspapers.com
     2. Clarence Albert Snyder (1913–1991) was born in Freeport, Illinois, on 4 December 1913. After he graduated from Freeport High School in 1932, he worked as a file clerk in Freeport. After the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Seabees from 27 August 1943 to 25 November 1945.

After the war, he lived with his widowed mother on 10 S. Albert, and worked as an inspector, specializing in gauges. In 1960, he was a foreman at the Micro Switch company.

Clarence died in Sacramento, California, on 15 May 1991. I found no evidence that he married or had children, but it's possible that he did. He and his mother likely moved to California together during the 1960s or 1970s. He is also buried in Oakland Cemetery, back in Freeport, Illinois.

     3. Helen Dora Snyder (1918–2001) was born on 12 February 1918 in Freeport, Illinois. She graduated from Freeport High School in 1936 and took a trip to Bermuda that year. After high school, she worked as a bookbinder in Lancaster, Illinois.

Helen married Harry Bernard Kintzel (1920–2003) on 15 March 1941. He was the son of William Henry Kintzel (1887–1927) and Harriett Dorothy "Hattie" Boetker (b. 1891). William died when Harry was seven years old, and Harry grew up in his step-father's house.

Records are sparse, but based on what I have found, Harry and Helen had at least one son and a daughter (still living) before they divorced. Helen remarried Walter Weis (1913–1955) on 26 May 1951. Walter died after being struck by a car in December 1954. Harry married Lillian Schulze (1920–1985) on 18 November 1955 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lillian died on 20 October 1985 in Neshkoro, Wisconsin; Harry died 16 May 2003 in Freeport.

Helen Weis moved out to Sacramento, California, possibly around the same time her mother and brother did. She died in Sacramento on 24 August 2001.

     a. Kary Kaye Kintzel (1944–2002) was the son of Harry B. and Helen D. (Snyder) Kintzel. He was born on 15 January 1944 in Freeport, Illinois, and he attended Freeport High School. He lived in Milwaukee for a time and died there on 12 January 2002.

     B. George W Dobson (1892–1977) was born on 22 February 1892 and raised in Rockford, Illinois. After his father, Harvey, died in 1905, and his mother married Walter Holcomb, George probably lived with them until setting out on his own. He was 18 years old in 1910, and he may be the hired man who appears in the Census in De Kalb, Illinois, in the household of Fred Munson.

George enlisted in the U.S. Army on 25 May 1916 and served as a private during World War I. He was discharged on 20 February 1919 and went back to Rockford, where he was listed in the Holcomb household with his two younger siblings in 1920. I suspect that during his time in the Army, George was probably stationed in Oklahoma, as that's where he married Ruby B Maddox (1905–1991) on 20 January 1926. She was the daughter of James Edgar Maddox (1878–1956) and Lydia M Gilliland (1887–1966) born on 20 March 1905.

George and Ruby lived in Fort Gibson and Muskogee, where George worked as a driver and laborer. They raised two daughters, both still living. George died in Muskogee on 6 March 1977 and was buried in Fort Gibson National Cemetery. Ruby died on 1 November 1991 and was buried near her husband.

     C. Clarence A Dobson (1896–1977) grew up in Rockford, raised by his mother and step-father. He enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard on 23 June 1916 and was assigned to Company H, 129th Infantry. The unit shipped out from Hoboken, New Jersey, on 10 May 1918 aboard the ship President Lincoln. He was wounded in action on 11 November, as the 129th was still engaged in fighting up to 30 minutes before World War I ended. Clarence remained in France until he was shipped back from Brest on 15 May 1919, likely to allow him time to recuperate. He was discharged from active duty on 6 June 1919, but he seems to have remained in the Guard.

Clarence married Norma Elizabeth Nelson (1897–1960), the daughter of Swedish immigrants, Nels Nelson (b. 1867) and Tilda Christine Anderson (b. 1865), and they had two daughters. Norma was born on 7 July 1897 in Rockford. The family seems to have lived with Norma's mother, as Clarence and Norma are listed as living at 123 Regan St. in 1925 and 1926, and Norma and the girls were listed as living there on the 1930 and 1940 Census records.

Clarence was listed in 1930 as a soldier residing at the Fort Sheridan Military Reservation in Lake County, Illinois, and in 1940 as a divorced boarder living in Lyndon, Juneau County, Wisconsin. Records don't show when they might have divorced, but Clarence did remarry. His second wife was Amanda Ethel Stratton (1894–1992), daughter of William Arthur Stratton (1869–1933) and Emma E Cooper (born 1864).

Norma died on 24 December 1960 in Winnebago County, and Clarence died on 11 January 1977 in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois. Clarence and Ethel were buried in Sunset Cemetery in Quincy.

     1. Ruth Elizabeth Dobson (1920–2005) was born on Boxing Day, 26 December 1920, in Rockford, Illinois. She grew up in a household with her grandmother, Tilda Rehn, her aunt Della, and her mother and sister. She married Howard Glenn Allen (1916–1991) in Rockford on 2 May 1942.

Howard was born 29 January 1916 in Rockford to William Allen Jr (1885–1963) and Katherine E Ott (1889–1963). He was enlisted in the U.S. Army from 12 June 1943 through 21 February 1946 and was a city firefighter in Rockford during the 1940s and 1950s.

Howard died on 5 October 1991 and was buried in the Scandinavian Cemetery in Rockford. Ruth died on 27 May 2005 and was buried with him. Their marker indicates that they were parents, but I have found no sources to say how many children they had or who they were.

     2. June Alberta Dobson (1922–1991) was born on 27 August 1922 in Rockford and graduated from East High School in 1942. She worked for many years as a clerk and notary public before she married Wilferd Otinius Benson (1920–1991), the son of Ole Benson (1872–1956) and Laura Andrea Peterson (1880–1948). According to other researchers, their wedding was on 27 April 1963 in Rockford, Illinois; however, I have not been able to corroborate that fact with available records.

Wilferd was born 17 February 1920 in Boscobel, Grant County, Wisconsin, and he worked at home on the family farm until his enlistment in the U.S. Army on 24 September 1942. After World War II he lived in Rockford, where he worked as a gas fitter for the Central Illinois Electric & Gas company.

June and Wilferd both died on 27 August 1991 in Wisconsin, but aside from the Wisconsin Death Index and Social Security records, I have not found any documents or obituaries that explain what happened. They are buried together in Scandinavian Cemetery in Rockford, and I presume they left no children behind.

     D. Jessie Marie Dobson (1903–1999) was born on 13 October 1903 in South Grove, De Kalb County, Illinois, but she grew up in the Rockford home of her mother and step-father. She was listed in Rockford in 1918 at the same address as her brothers, George and Clarence, who were both serving in the Army at the time.

After the 1920 Census, Jessie left few records to help me tell her story. We know from the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 that she was married, and that her married name was registered as Jessie Marie Hamlin in 1977 and 1987. That document also lists her parents' names, her date and place of birth, and her death on 14 March 1999. The Social Security Death Index tells us that her last benefit was paid in Chula Vista, San Diego County, California.

Working backward, there is a 1993 record in the U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002 database which places Jessie M. Hamlin at 2674 Woodmar Road in Rockford; and in 1950 she is listed in Rockford at 634 Johnson Avenue with Raymond S. Hamlin.

Raymond (1908-1982) was the younger son of longtime Rockford firefighter and fire captain Edward Adams Hamlin (1882–1958) and Estella Shearer (1882–1955). He died on 6 June 1982 in Chula Vista, San Diego County, California. Because he was married previously, I estimate that Raymond divorced his first wife around 1943 when he enlisted in the Navy during World War II, and he clearly married Jessie by 1950.

I suspect that Jessie married sometime between 1920 and her marriage to Raymond since I found no 1930 or 1940 records for a Jessie Dobson, but I also found no marriage record for Jessie and Raymond, which would normally tell me her married name from her previous marriage. There is certainly time between 1920 and 1950 for her to have raised a family, had a career, or done any number of interesting things.

Perhaps one day we'll learn more.

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School is back in full swing for me, so time to work on the remaining Dobsons is limited for now. I expect I won't be able to post much during the months of April and May, and we still have five more of Harvey's siblings to review!

As always, if you recognize any of these families and spot missing or incorrect information, please let me know! You can drop a note in the comments below, or email me at "callintad" at Gmail dot com. If you're descended from this family, you're welcome to follow the link above to the Callin Family History Group on Facebook; it's a private group, so you'll see a couple of brief questions to answer to make sure you're family, but once you're in the group, anything you say will be between other members of the family (and whomever Facebook sells us out to, naturally).

Until next time, happy hunting!