Note: in an attempt to avoid confusion, the three "James Ramsey Dobbs" men mentioned here and in other pages are listed as:
  Father: James Ramsey Dobbs or James Ramsey Dobbs I
  Son: James Ramsey Dobbs Jr. or James Ramsey Dobbs II or "Uncle Jimmy"
  Grandson: James Ramsey Dobbs III

James Ramsey Dobbs Jr. was born on May 3 1890 to Mary Elizabeth Pannebaker and James Ramsey Dobbs I, a married man. It has been said that this was the result of a forced encounter.

In the April 30, 1890 Juniata Sentinel and Republican under "Booked for court this week" it is reported, Commonwealth VS J.Ramsey Dobbs, confession of fornication and bastardy before Thomas Creightor J. P.

In the September 3,1890 edition of the same paper under Commonwealth Cases it states James Ramsey Dobbs fornication and bastardy, prosecutrix Lizzie Pannebaker.

I cannot locate any later information on the ruling regarding the case. Since he confessed,it would be interesting to know if he had to pay child support.

In the 1890 Federal Census we find young Jimmy (James Jr.) living with his maternal grandparents George Washington and Caroline Pannebaker in Spruce Hill, Juniata County, Pennsylvania.

In the Federal Census of 1910 Jimmy (James Jr.) is living with his mother and half siblings, Carrie R, Charles L. and Edna J. Swails (Edna's middle name is Irene but the transcriber saw her middle initial as a J) Lizzie is enumerated using her first name Mary. She has by this time married William Sylvester Swails and William is not living with the family. Jimmy is working as a laborer in a shoe factory.

In the Pennsylvania Death Certificates we find that Jimmy (James Jr.) dies at the age of 24 on March 4, 1915 in Spruce Hill, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. His mother is listed as Elizabeth Pannebaker. He was found frozen in the snow according to his sister Carrie Swails Colyer. His death certificate lists the cause of death as pneumonia in both lungs. Both could be true. The medical examiner may have been being kind since Jimmy ( James Jr.) had been drinking when he was found dead or it may have contributed to his death from pneumonia.

Jimmy (James Jr.) was married to Minnie Diehl and had three young children, Herbert L, Mary C. and James R Dobbs Jr.II

In the Federal Census of 1920 we find Minnie ( James Jr.'s) widow has married Albert A. Watts and has a one year old daughter named Edna Watts along with the three Dobbs children. They are living in Tuscarora in the county of Juniata, Pennsylvania In the census of 1930 the Watts family is living in Lower Paxton in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and the Dobbs children are listed as Watts and sons and daughter of Albert Watts. In the 1910 census they were listed as step-children of Albert Watts.

So what happened to Jimmy's (James Jr's) children and his parents? His widow Minnie Diehl Watts lived till she was eighty-two years old dying in 1974. She is interred in The Silver Spring Church Cemetery in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania according to the Find A Grave index. Her daughter Edna Mae Watts is buried in the same cemetery and proceeded her mother in death in 1938 at the age of twenty. James Ramsey Dobbs,the father of Jimmy (James Jr.) dies in 1954 in Derry Township, Miflin County, Pennsylvania and his burial is in the McCoysville Cemetery in Juniata County, Pennsylvania.

Jimmy (James Jr.) and Minnie's son Herbert died June 8,1931 at the age of 20 in Lower Paxton, Dauphin County,Pennsylvania according to information found in the Pennsylvania Death Certificate collection 1906-1966. I cannot find any information regarding cause of death or burial.

Mary Caroline Dobbs life is a bit of mystery and very confusing to research. In the 1930 census Mary is seen living in Port Royal Pennsylvania in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. She is working as a servant in the home of the Robison Family.

On November 24, 1941 Mary Dobbs is listed as the maiden name of mother on the death certificate of a stillborn child. The father is listed as John Fields.

In 1948 John Fields and Mary Dobbs Fields are shown as the parents of a young son named John William Fields Jr. John Jr. was born on January 27, 1944 and died May 2,1948 of Spinal Meningitis.

According to the U.S. Social Security Application and Claims index 1936 to 2007, under the name of Mary Caroline Dormer, on Dec.4, 1974 her name was listed as Mary C. Fields. On July 26, 1989 Mary was listed as Mary Caroline Dormer and on June 1993 she was listed as Mary C. Dormer. It also lists Mary Caroline Dobbs at the top of the document with the other three names. I almost thought it had to be someone else but her parents are listed as James R. Dobbs( James Jr.) and Minnie Diehl. Her birth is shown as December 9, 1912 and death as April,1991.

In the Pennsylvania Death Certificate Records 1906-1966, Mary Dobbs is listed with John W. Fields as her husband. In the U. S., Find A Grave Index,1600s-Current,a Mary C. Fields with the maiden name of Dormer and with a birth in 1912 and death in 1991 is buried in Shiremanstown, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in Saint John's Cemetery. John W. Fields is listed as her husband and John W. Fields as a child.

We have no idea why or how the Dormer name came to be associated with Mary Dobbs. It is possible she was married before John Fields to a Dormer or used the name for some reason.

James Ramsey Dobbs Jr.II was born August 12, 1915 to the widowed Minnie Dobbs after his father's James Ramsey Dobbs Jr.'s death on March 4, 1915. In the 1940 Federal Census James Jr II is living in Mechanicsburg in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania on East Keller Street. He is listed as having completed four years of high school and working as a laborer. He is married and he and his wife Mary are living with Mary's brother and family.

James Jr.II's W. W. II draft card found on Ancestry.com indicates that he was 25, had brown hair, blue eyes, was 6'1" tall and weighed 158 lbs. In the "World War II Young American Patriots" James Jr. II is shown to have attended Lower Paxton High School. He served in England, France, Belgium and Germany. He was a Sargeant and was awarded the Bronze Star. He entered the service on May 1, 1943. He was listed as a Protestant and is the Husband of Mary Ward Dobbs.

It does not appear that James and Mary K. Ward Dobbs had any children. The 1950 census has not been released yet and I cannot find any other records at this time. A US Social Security Application and Claims record indicates a Honey Grove, Pennsylvania birthplace for James Ramsey Jr. II. It lists his father as J. R. Dobbs (James Ramsey Dobbs Jr.) and his mother as Minnie Diehl.

There is a picture of James Ramsey Dobbs Jr II in the "W.W.II Young American Patriots" In my opinion he resembles his half uncle Charles " Lloyd" Swails and his half cousin Victor Swails.

[Story:]
Some of James' nieces and nephews were told he died of pneumonia.
However his sister Carrie Swails Colyer told her children and grand-children a different story. She explained that it was a very bitter day and as James finished working it was suggested that he have some hard liquor to warm him before the walk home. He was later found dead in the cold. Carrie was extremely vocal in her opinion on the evils of imbibing and one can understand why.






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