DOBBIN, James Cochrane, (grandson of James Cochran), a Representative from North Carolina; born in Fayetteville, N.C., January 17, 1814; attended the Fayetteville Academy and the William Bingham School, Hillsboro, N.C.; was graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1832; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1835 and commenced practice in Fayetteville; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1847); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1846; resumed the practice of law; member of the State house of commons in 1848, 1850, and 1852, serving as speaker in 1850; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852; Secretary of the Navy in the Cabinet of President Pierce from March 7, 1853, to March 6, 1857; died in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, N.C., August 4, 1857; interment in Cross Creek Cemetery.
(Source: Biographical Directory of the United States 1774-present.)