Dobson, Joseph bio

History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 947, Woodland Township
Joseph Dobson, deceased, was a native of Green county, Ky., where he was born in the year 1805; he grew toward manhood an adventurous youth, for early in life he became employed on flatboats, making the usual trips to New Orleans; after many weeks spent upon the Mississippi, in an early day, probably in 1831, he moved to Indiana, where he was previously united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Shields, a daughter of Joseph Shields. During the autumn of 1833, Mr. D. settled in Kerton township, Fulton county. The survivors of their family are Mrs. Dobson, who was born Sept., 1811, in Indiana, and had 7 children; Wm., who married Miss Sarah Shelley; James, who married Lucretia Brokaw; Martin, who resides in Summum, married Hannah Mercer; George, who married Mary E. Brown; Hardin resides in Wisconsin; Anna, who resides on the old homestead, married John Rankin, a native of Ohio, who settled in this township, in 1847; there were born of this marriage 4 children, - Clara, John M., Rodney C. and William. Scott Dobson, youngest son of Joseph Dobson, resides on the old homestead. Mr. D,. was a somewhat noted deer hunter, and killed, according to an account kept, nearly 2,000 deer. He was an extraordinary marksman; used the old long rifle of Kentucky, which is still in the possession of the family.