Arthur Dobbs

Arthur Dobbs (2 April 1689 – 28 March 1765) was a British colonial official who served as the seventh governor of North Carolina from 1754 until 1764.

Early life and career

Dobbs was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, where his mother had been sent because of political and religious unrest. He was the eldest son of Richard Dobbs of Carrickfergus, County Antrim, who was soon to become Sheriff of Antrim in 1694 and Mary Stewart from Ballintoy. The first English ancestor to settle Carrickfergus was John Dobbs (Arthur’s great-great grandfather), an officer who had arrived in 1596 with Sir Henry Dockwra. In 1599 John Dobbs built a home known as Castle Dobbs. He married Margaret Dalway and had two sons.

He was a neighbour and family friend of Jonathan Swift despite their political differences. He served briefly in a dragoon regiment in the Irish Army, and afterward managed his family estate.

Dobbs became an engineer and Surveyor-General of Ireland, supervising the construction of the Irish Parliament House in Dublin, as well as other Irish public buildings. He was appointed High Sheriff of Antrim in 1720,[5] and in 1727, was elected Member of Parliament for Carrickfergus, a seat he held until 1760.

Whilst a member of the Irish Parliament, Dobbs purchased 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) in North Carolina in 1745 and encouraged settlement in the colony, especially by Scots Irish. Following the death of North Carolina governor Gabriel Johnston, Dobbs was confirmed to succeed him on 25 January 1753. However, he did not arrive to assume his duties until October of the following year.