Descendants of William Currie Dobie
and
Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth

1. Edward, Mary Elizabeth, Joshua Coatsworth & Belle.

   William Currie Dobie, born 1-Sep-1839, Liverpool, Eng.,³⁰ occupation: Police magistrate, married (1) 15-Apr-1865,³¹ Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth, born 17-Jun-1842, Perrys Lead Mine, St. Francis County, MO,³¹ (daughter of Joshua Coatsworth and Sarah Bowman) died 1-Aug-1879, Port Arthur, Ont.,³² married (2) cir 1888,³³ possibly divorced, Mary Ann Dobie, born 13-Feb-1851, Ekfrid Twp., Ont.,³⁴ (daughter of David Dobie and Flora Roy McRae) died 13-Oct-1931, Glencoe, Ont.,³⁵ William died 13-Nov-1928, Port Arthur, Ont.³⁰
   See obituary of William Currie Dobie (also contains photos)
   Note on Mary Ann Dobie: Mary Ann Dobie was the second cousin once removed and also the second wife of William Currie Dobie. She was living with him and several of his children in Port Arthur on 6 April 1891, which was the date of enumeration of that family in the 1891 census. The dirt on Mary Ann is that she was impossible to live with and W.C. Dobie's two eldest girls "drove her out of the house". This information from Marion Dobie, a grand-niece of Mary Ann. I've found neither a marriage nor a divorce record for this couple, so I don't know how much further (or if) I should persue it. Mary Ann seems to have taken on the role of "wicked stepmother" in Sutherland family mythology (see Annie Louise Dobie, below).
   1. Isabella (Belle) Sarah Dobie, (daughter of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 22-Jan-1866, Bruce Mines, Ont.,³⁶ occupation: Artist, writer, died 1-Nov-1919, Port Arthur, Ont.; 16 Regent St.,³⁷ buried Port Arthur, Ont.; Riverside Cemetery,³⁸ Belle was single. She died of breast cancer.
      This is the obituary of Belle Dobie from a clipping, hand-dated 1919, probably from the Owen Sound newspaper.
      

      Belle Dobie 1912 Belle Dobie 1890

      MISS BELLE DOBIE DIED AT PORT ARTHUR
      Well Known Writer and Artist Passed Away on Saturday
      "Miss Belle Dobie, daughter of Magistrate W. C. Dobie of Port Arthur, died at her home there on Saturday, November 1st. Miss Dobie, who was a cousin of Miss Annie Dobie, Mr. D. R. Dobie and the late Capt. Milton Dobie, was well known as a writer and was a member of the Canadian Women's Press Club. She was an editorial writer on the staffs of the Morning Herald and the Times Journal of Fort William and the News Chronicle of Port Arthur as well as a frequent contributor to the Canadian Courier and other publications. Her latest work, a book entitled "Housewife and Editor", was ready for publication. Miss Dobie, who has been a visitor in Owen Sound on several occasions, was also an artist of considerable talent, who loved to portray, by brush and pen, scenes of beauty and character sketches of people whose lives were beautiful. Her death is a distict loss to Canadian journalism."

      The mention of the title of her pending book confirms a family story I've been told many times by my mother. The story is that when aunt Belle died, her sister-in-law, aunt Althea destroyed the manuscript of her book. The National Library has no record of this book, or of any book by Belle Dobie. I know this seems like airing dirty laundry, but destroying a book is a bit beyond the pale. I would like to hear from anyone who has any information on "Housewife and Editor".

   2. Mary Elizabeth Dobie, (daughter of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 10-Feb-1868, Bruce Mines, Ont.,³⁹ died 20-Jan-1959, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁴⁰ buried 22-Jan-1959, Port Arthur, Ont.; Riverside Cemetery,⁴⁰. She used "Elizabeth" as her given name in her adult life -- she was always my "Aunt Liz". Since I was the first Dobie grandchild, she spoiled me outrageously whenever we visited Port Arthur. I never encountered the "Mary" until I saw her census records. She must have lived for a time with her grandparents after her mother died, as a Mary Dobie of the right age is shown on the 1881 census as living with John and Mary Dobie in Chatsworth, Ont.

      This is the obituary of Mary Elizabeth Dobie, in the Fort William Times-Journal, Wednesday, January 21, 1959, Page 2.
      Resident Since '72, PA Woman Dies at 90
      One of the earliest residents of Port Arthur, Miss Elizabeth M. Dobie, 90, of Dawson Court, died Tuesday after a lengthy illness. Born at Bruce Mines, she came to Port Arthur in 1872 by boat with her parents, the late Magistrate and Mrs. W.C. Dobie. She was a member of First Presbyterian church and the evening auxiliary. Surviving are, a sister, Mrs. D.G. Sutherland of Vancouver; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. E.J.B. Dobie, of 4 Regent street and Mrs. J.C. Dobie, of South High street, Port Arthur. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday from the Sargent chapel to Riverside cemetery. Rev. Gron Morgan will officiate. The family requests that flowers be omitted.

   3. Joshua Coatsworth Dobie, (birth name was John David Dobie) (son of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 5-Oct-1870, Wellington Mines, Ont.,⁴¹ occupation: Gen. Merchant, married 27-Jun-1905, in Port Arthur, Ont.,⁴² Dora Lovell Meikle, born 22-Aug-1880, New Hamburg, Ont.,⁴³ (daughter of John Lovell Meikle and Jeanne Milne) died 27-Mar-1963, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁴⁴ buried 30-Mar-1963, Port Arthur, Ont.; Riverside Cemetery,⁴⁵ Joshua died 6-May-1943, Toronto, Ont.,⁴⁶ buried 10-May-1943, Port Arthur, Ont.; Riverside Cemetery,⁴⁶
      A birth record for John David Dobie, born 5-Oct-1870 in Bruce Mines, is in the Ontario Archives, originally making me believe that twins were born. But in August of 2008 when I was looking through a pile of old insurance papers which had been stored in a tin trunk in Dorothy (Dobie) Fraser's basement, I found a statutory declaration dated 13 March, 1908, signed by W. C. Dobie, stating that Joshua Coatsworth Dobie was so named at his baptism, but at his birth he had been registered as John David Dobie. Also, a letter of Jan. 23, 1996 from J.C. Dobie's son, Rev. Dr. George Dobie, says in part: "My father had no twin as far as we know. He has told us he began his life as John David, then later his name was changed to Joshua Coatsworth. If he told us the reason, we weren't listening. It may have something to do with the relations between his parents." Note that "John David" was the name of his paternal grandfather, so changing his name to that of his maternal grandfather would seem to point to some sort of family tension.
      See a large photo of the wedding of J.C. Dobie & Dora Lovell Meikle. (Added March 17, 2013)
      See W.C. Dobie's Statutory Declaration mentioned above.
      See this family's listing in the 1911 census. -- It is interesting that everyone was declared as having English ancestry rather than Scottish.
      Read the obituary of J.C. Dobie.
      1. Dorothy Jean Dobie, born 10-Jul-1906, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁴⁷ occupation: Teacher,⁴⁷ married 22-Dec-1939, in Port Arthur, Ont.,⁴⁸ Neil Cryan Fraser, born 11-Mar-1903, Uxbridge, Ont.,⁴⁷ (son of James Roderick Fraser and Georgianna Anna Cryan) occupation: Judge, died 12-Jan-1977, Toronto, Ont.,⁴⁹ buried 15-Jan-1977, Toronto, Ont.; Mount Pleasant Cemetery,⁴⁹ Dorothy died 3-Oct-1996, Toronto, Ont., buried 7-Oct-1996, Toronto, Ont.; Mount Pleasant Cemetery,⁵⁰ They were married in First Presbyterian Church, Port Arthur.
         1. Two children, seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren. Connected surnames include Dowd, Rahilly, Taylor.
      2. Edward Russell Coatsworth Dobie, born 14-Aug-1907, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁵² occupation: Sales manager, married (1) about 1932, in Port Arthur, Ont., divorced, Velma Smith, married (2) about 1943,² Linda Oladine Cox, (daughter of Thomas Benton Cox and Vadus Shughart). Edward died 25-Sep-1979, Overland Park, Johnson County, KS, USA,⁵³ buried 28-Sep-1979, Fort Leavenworth, KS; National Cemetery,⁵⁴ Birth day was possibly 24 August, as this date was entered on a "Cradle Roll Certificate" 4½ years after his birth. Letter from him dated 31 Oct. 1974 shows him working for Zenith Distributing Corporation of Kansas, living in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
         1. One child, three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren. Connected surnames are McCasland, Mercer, Rulau.
      3. William Lovell Dobie, born 28-Sep-1909, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁵⁶ occupation: Miner, married 19-Dec-1936, in Minneapolis, Minn.,⁵⁷ Margaret Anne Carlson, born 26-Jul-1908, Kenmare, N. Dakota, (daughter of Charles Ludwig Carlson and Anna Long). [Click here to see this Carlson family]. William died 21-Jan-1988, Toronto, Ont.,⁵⁸ buried 25-Jan-1988, Toronto, Ont.; Toronto Crematorium,⁵⁹ Married at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 616 - 10th Ave. S. E., Minneapolis. Witnesses: Mildred C. Davis, Eldrige T. Mackay. Minister: R. G. Riemann.
         1. Charles Coatsworth Dobie, born 6-Feb-1941, Geraldton, Ont.,⁶⁰ occupation: Printer, systems analyst, partner since Aug-1971 is Peter Bruce Zorzi, born 6-Aug-1947, Montreal, Que. (son of Josef Zorzi and Josephine Kim). Charles is the compiler of these Dobie, Meikle, Coatsworth, etc. lists. See photograph of us.
         2. Dora Elizabeth Dobie, born 9-Sep-1946, Kirkland Lake, Ont., occupation: Public health nurse, costume designer, married 11-Jul-1969, in Acton Burnell, England, George Hastings Rust-D'Eye, born 19-Jan-1944, Toronto, Ont., (son of George Rust-D'Eye and Catherine (Katie) Wallace) occupation: Lawyer. Married at St. Mary's Anglican Church, Acton Burnell, England.
            1. Anne Dioness Rust-D'Eye, born 10-Feb-1981, Toronto, Ont.
            2. Victoria Catherine Rust-D'Eye, born 21-Jul-1983, Toronto, Ont.
               See photograph of them
      4. Frederick Clarence Dobie, Dr., born 30-May-1916, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁶¹ occupation: Medical doctor, married 1-Nov-1941, in Regina, Sask.,² Patricia Jean Alport, born __-___-1921, Regina, Sask.,⁶² (daughter of Edward Bishop Alport, Dr. and unknown) died __-Jul-1993, Regina, Sask. Married Patricia Jean Alport at Knox United Church.
         1. Four children, five grandchildren. Connected surnames: Fraser, Hamm, Kram, Smith, Walsh.
      5. George Edgar Dobie, Rev. Dr., born 6-Jan-1918, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁶¹ occupation: Presbyterian minister, married about 1945,² Helen Petersen, born __-___-1924.²
         1. Six children, eleven grandchildren. Connected surnames: Bambrick, Gunderson, Lillgert, Rizzo, Sarsam, Scobie.
   4. Edward James Biggings Dobie, (son of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 20-Feb-1873, Prince Arthur's Landing, Ont.,⁶⁸ married __-___-____,² Althea Dickson, born 30-Jun-1885, St. Thomas, ON,⁶⁹ (daughter of George Dickson and Jennie Ford) died 27-Feb-1974, Thunder Bay, Ont.,⁷⁰ Edward died 2-Nov-1952, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁷¹ buried 4-Nov-1952, Port Arthur, Ont.; Riverside Cemetery,⁷¹ "Edward Dobie" in birth record. Full name on death record of his infant son, Edward George Dobie, born & died in 1913. Name in obituary is "Biggings". Read obituary of E.J.B. Dobie.
      Note on Althea Dickson: Name on 1901 census seems to be "Altha". Read letter from Althea Dickson to Annie (Dobie) Sutherland.
      1. John Currie Dobie, born 27-Feb-1910, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁷² occupation: Economist, married __-___-1948, in Ottawa, Ont.,⁷³ Hazel Isabel McAskill, born 20-Apr-1908, Gladstone, MB?,⁷³ died 28-Nov-1997, Winnipeg, MB,⁷³ buried 2-Dec-1997, Winnipeg, MB,⁷³ John died 29-Jun-1985, Winnipeg, MB,⁷² Read death notice of John Currie Dobie and Read death notice of Hazel Isabel McAskill.
         1. Two children, at least one grandchild. Connected surnames: Desmoulin, Limbert.
      2. Edward George Dobie, born 6-May-1913, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁷⁶ died 6-May-1913, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁷⁶ Lived for 6 hrs. Died from injury at time of birth at 15 South Hill St.
      3. baby boy Dobie, born 22-Feb-1915, Port Arthur, Ont.,⁷⁷ died 22-Feb-1915, Port Arthur, Ont. ⁷⁷
   5. Annie Louise Dobie, (daughter of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 5-Dec-1874, Prince Arthur's Landing, Ont.,⁷⁸ married 13-Aug-1897, in Kamloops, B.C,⁷⁹ Daniel Gunn Sutherland, born 5-May-1867, Pictou, NS,⁸⁰ (son of Alexander Sutherland and Jessie McLeod) occupation: Policeman & public works, died 25-Feb-1952, Vancouver, BC,⁸¹ buried 28-Feb-1952, Vancouver, BC; Vancouver Crematorium,⁸¹ Annie died 21-Feb-1971, Coquitlam, B.C.,⁸² buried 23-Feb-1971, North Vancouver, BC,⁸². Marriage witnesses: Jennie Evans and George Borthwick, both of Kamloops, BC. Married by Rev. John Robson, by licence, Presbyterian.

      Annie Dobie was brought up with the Woodside family in B.C. after 1881. She lived in Boston Bar, BC. in 1943 (see J.C. Dobie death notice); in Vancouver in 1961/2. She was with the Dobies in Port Arthur for the 1881 census but gone by the 1891 census. I met her in Vancouver when I was in the Navy, about 1962, when my uncle George Dobie took me to visit her. Her marriage record states that she went by the Woodside surname but had not been legally adopted. Although her name is "Louisa" on her birth record, Marilynn Clarke informs me that she always used "Louise". The family pet name her grandchildren called her was "Othermom", as she was a mother to them when their own mother died. She died at Valley View Hospital, Coquitlam, BC. Cremated.

      Although she lived with the Woodside family, she still kept in contact with her Dobie siblings and her father in Port Arthur. See Dobie-Sutherland Photograph Album which records the Sutherland family in Lytton, BC and visits of both W.C. Dobie and Belle Dobie to the Sutherland household.

      In a letter dated Aug. 25, 1997, her grand-daughter, Marilynn Clarke, writes: "My grandmother was affectionately known by everyone as "Othermom". She was generous to a fault and a wonderfully caring person. I lived with her and my grandfather for a year after my mother died. All that I am or ever hoped to be I owe to her. In additiion to the year mentioned, I spent numerous summers with her and my grandfather. Oh how I wish I'd paid more attention when I heard the oft-told stories of her early years. I, like you, was always puzzled as to why my grandmother was sent to live with the Woodside family. I know nothing about them but always got the impression that Othermom was very happy with them. The story I heard many times about Othermom's stepmother was that she was very mean and quite abusive to her and my grandmother vowed that if she ever had any children she would spoil them. (She did). She also said that no one realized at that time that her stepmother was mentally ill. It was my understanding that she was institutionalized." [Note: This seems to not to have been the case. Marion Dobie, the great-niece of Mary Ann Dobie, says she was never institutionalized. -- Charles Dobie.]

      Daniel: Daniel's occupation at marriage was "Provincial Constable", at death was "Superintendant Road Construction" (to 1942). His residence at marriage was Lytton, BC. He gave his mother's name on his marriage record as Mary or Marg., but on his death record it is Jessie McLeod, and this name is confirmed by Marilynn (Mayes) Clarke. Died at Shaughnessy Hospital, Vancouver. His birth date on his death record is March 5, 1867, but Marilynn Clarke in a letter dated 8 Oct., 1997, says the correct month is May.

      This is the obituary of D.G. Sutherland in an undated and unidentified newspaper clipping supplied by Marilynn (Mayes) Clarke:
      

      Pioneer Of Fraser Passes

      Daniel Gunn Sutherland, who came to British Columbia in 1888 and grew up with the development of the road and rail down the Fraser from Revelstoke to Vancouver, was buried Thursday in Vancouver. Mr. Sutherland was 84. He had worked as a boy in the CPR camps when the railway was pushed through to the coast and for years had served as a superintendent for the provincial department of Public Works. During the first war he was a member of the Canadian Forestry Corps, serving two years in France. He also served with the Provincial Police at Lytton, and it was while he was in the police, in 1899, that he married Annie Louise Dobie. [Note correct year is 1897. -- CD.]

      In 1908, he became a superintendent with the public works department, a job that was interrupted during the first war, and it was in the government service that he helped build bridges and docks at Golden, Woodwards Landing, Courtenay, Sayward, Mission, Salmon River and Hope.

      He was also on the crew that built the first Kitsilano bridge across False Creek. It was at his suggestion that the aerial ferry across the Fraser at Boston Bar was constructed. When Mr. Sutherland first came to B.C., he recalled shortly before his death, in a Province Magazine article, he saw the Fraser at Lytton literally filled with salmon. There were so many they could be seen a mile away and "looked like seaweed." He was a member of Nicolas Lodge, A.F. & A.M. at Merrit. Mr Sutherland is survived by his wife, a daughter, Doris, and a son, Gordon, all of 2429 East Twenty-seventh.

      1. Doris Isabel Sutherland, born 10-Jun-1898, Lytton, BC,⁸³ married (1)⁸³ Claude Gwinn, married (2)⁸³ Fred Sandborg, married (3) 14-May-1953,⁸³ Victor Graham, . Doris died 7-Oct-1984, Blaine, WA, USA,⁸³ Marilynn (Mayes) Clarke says "Doris was always the renegade of the family -- was a "lady barber" before it was socially acceptable . . . she was a very bright woman -- in younger days a talented artist."
      2. Marjorie Coatsworth Sutherland, born 20-Mar-1901, Ashcroft, BC,⁸³ married⁸³ John Barnett Mayes, Marjorie died 27-Jun-1938, Seattle, WA, USA.⁸³
         1. Three children, seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchilren. Connected surnames include: Clark, Clarke, Dellinger, Kirk, Murphy, Poe, Quigley, Smith, Vukelich.
      3. Gordon Hartley Sutherland, born 26-Apr-1904, Lytton, BC,⁸³ occupation: Carpenter,⁸³ died 11-Apr-1984, Blaine, WA, USA,⁸³ Marilynn (Mayes) Clarke says "Gordon was a carpenter, worked in mines. He was an admirable man who devotedly took care of his mother."
      4. Edward Coatsworth Donald Sutherland, born 5-Feb-1906, Lytton, BC,⁸³ occupation: Telegraph operator,⁸⁵ died 11-Oct-1931, Vancouver, BC,⁸⁶ buried 13-Oct-1931, Lytton, BC,⁸⁶ Don was an award-winning bicycle racer and was about to start racing professionally. Medical certificate of death states he died of heart disease. Death certificate gives name only as "Edward Coatsworth", but his newspaper obituary and other news clippings refer to him as "Donald" or "Don".

   6. Wilna Sydney Dobie

      Wilna Sydney Dobie, (daughter of William Currie Dobie and Sarah Dorothy Coatsworth) born 15-Jan-1878, Prince Arthur's Landing, Ont.,⁸⁷ died 1-Dec-1883,⁸³ W.C. Dobie's obituary in the Port Arthur News Chronicle, Wed., Nov. 14, 1928, Pg. 1. gives Wilna's death date as 1 Jan. 1893, but Marilynn Clarke, in a letter of 8 Oct., 1997 says: "On the back of the picture (of Wilna) written in my grandmother's hand is the notation: My baby sister - Wilna Sydney Dobie - who was mothered by friends & died Dec. 1, 1883 at the age of 5 years and eleven months. My aunt Doris added the notation that she died of diptheria." Papers held by M. Clarke seem to indicate she lived in Portage La Prarie, Manitoba.
      

      Wilna is the third child sent to live with friends after her mother died. Who did she live with and where? Until Marilynn gave me this information, the story of Wilna had been a complete unknown to me.
      
      The photograph at right is by Gaylord, Duluth. Laser photocopy courtesy of Marilynn Clarke.