From SDD's Notes For JAMES MONROE DOBBS:
Obituary, The Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Tuesday, 26 December 1922:
"James Monroe Dobbs, well-known resident of College Park, died Monday at the residence on Princeton Avenue, following a short illness. Mr. Dobbs was 63 years of age, and until six years ago, when he retired, was with the United States consular service.
"Mr. Dobbs was the son of the late Colonel David Dobbs and Mrs. Mattie J. Dobbs. Much of his early life was spent in and around Marietta and he had numbers of friends in that section.
"He is survived by his mother, a daughter, Mrs. W. H. Smith; a son, James Monroe Dobbs, Jr.; two sisters, Mrs. Lillian Finn, College Park, and Mrs. S. H. Smith, Lynchburg, VA; and three brothers, E.P. and H.C. Dobbs of Marietta, and Max D. Dobbs of College Park.
"Funeral services will be held Tuesday at St. John's Episcopal church, College Park."

Obituary From Unnamed Atlanta Newspaper, Tuesday, 26 December 1922:
"Mr. James Monroe Dobbs died Monday morning, December 25, 1922, at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Lillian E. Finn, at College Park, Ga. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. W. H. Smith, wife of Colonel W. H. Smith, U.S. Army; one son, Mr. James Monroe Dobbs, Jr., two sisters, Mrs. Lillian E. Finn, College Park, and Mrs. S. H. Smith, of Virginia; three brothers, E.P., H.C., and Max D. Dobbs, all of Marietta, Ga. Mr. Dobbs was formerly consul-general to Valparaiso under President Cleveland's administration. Friends are invited to attend the funeral services which will be held today (Tuesday) at 1 P.M. from 123 E. Princeton Ave., College Park. Rev. H. R. Chase, of St. John's Episcopal church, officiating. Interment at Marietta, Ga. Pallbearers selected will please meet at the residence. Barclay & Brandon Co., funeral directors.

"Buried City Cemetery, Marietta, Ga.

Date of death from Atlanta History Center, Garrett Necrology: Age 63, resident of Princeton Avenue in College Park, GA. Born in Marietta, GA, son of Col. David and Mrs. Mattie J. Dobbs. Much of his early life was spent in and around Marietta. Until his retirement six years ago was in the U.S. Consular service, having served as consul to several South American countries. Resident of College Park past six years.

Louise Dobbs Younger said he worked on the Panama Canal. (Not sure this is correct.)

1910 federal census, Fulton County, GA, E.D. 127, page 43.
1920 federal census, Fulton County, GA, E.D. 172, page 27

From The Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Sunday, 23 April 1893:
Hon. James M. Dobbs, Something About the New Consul to Valparaiso, A Sailor Boy for Three Years His Wife, Mrs. Emma Hahr-Dobbs, Well Known as a Musician -
They Leave for Chile May 30th Valparaiso, Chile, S.A. is where James M. Dobbs, of Marietta, lately appointed consul to the city named, will soon address all his letters from.
Mr. Dobbs, accompanied by his wife, will leave for South America on the 30th of May, sailing from New York city. In less than three weeks Consul Dobbs and wife will go to Chicago, where the world's fair will be visited in time to leave for Valparaiso on the date set.
The new and democratic consul succeeds Mr. William McCreary, of Michigan. James M. Dobbs is a native Georgian, having been born in Marietta, where he now lives. His appointment to the head consulship of Chile was a good one in every respect. He is well acquainted with the ways and language of the South Americans and is well versed in the commerce of the country.
It was his thorough knowledge of the physical and geographical nature of Chile that induced the president to appoint Mr. Dobbs consul to Valparaiso. Mr. Dobbs did not go after the office with a bundle of recommendations and a wagon load of petitions. He was introduced to the president by the congressman from the seventh, Judge Maddox, and Mr. Dobbs himself did the rest. He impressed the Washington officials that he was thoroughly acquainted with the language and the disposition of the people with whom he would have to deal, and that was all that was necessary.
Valparaiso, where Consul Dobbs will make his headquarters, is the seaport of Chile and is some one hundred miles distant from Santiago, the capital of Chile. Valparaiso has something like two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, and is a hustling business-like city. It is the largest port in the South Pacific. The town is quite a pretty one, but is by no means as handsome a one as Santiago. The Chileans are the foremost nation of South America, and are very progressive. The principal industries of the country are stock raising and mining. Phosphates and copper about the largest mining products. Taken all in all, Valparaiso is a delightful place to spend four years or more and the stay is made none the less pleasant when a salary of $3,000 a year, besides the perquisites of the office, is involved.
James M. Dobbs was born in Marietta thirty-three years ago, and was a son of Mr. David Dobbs, who was a member of the first class to graduate from the State university. While he was quite a youngster the support of his mother devolved upon young James, and he decided that he would strike out, and, boy-like, thought that in a few years he would have a fortune to place at his mother's feet.
"Jim," as he was called at home and about the little village, was just sixteen years old when he was struck by the desire to emigrate. Jim's mother was favorably impressed with the idea, but between the mother and son there arose a difference of opinions, in which the mother was upheld by all the friends of the family, all failing to see the making for the future consul in Jim.
And Jim -- well, he wanted to go to sea, and unlike Caesar, he was not able to say anything except that he went to sea, and he saw.
Argument after argument was thrown at the stubborn-headed youth, but he refused to give up his cherished plan. He was told of the horrors of a storm at sea, the terrors of the shipwrecked mariner who gradually starved to death; the cruel cat o' nine tails, too, was brought forward, but all this did not deter Jim. He wanted to be a sailor boy, swear like a bo'sun, and hitch his trousers in a way not known to lubberly ways. These and many other sailor-like things was he ambitious of doing, until finally his mother unwillingly consented that he should go.
It was from New York, on board of a sailing vessel bound for South America, that Jim shipped. He went before the mast in regular novel form, and was the pet of a very tough crew. Gradually Jim became exceedingly weary of a sailor boy's life, and he waxed exceeding homesick, but he was full of sand and determined to stick it out.
For three years he played the role of sailor-lad, and finally gave it up to become a landsman. He dropped his sailor life in South America and went to work to get rich. He traveled through Brazil, the United States of Colombia and Chile, picking up the Spanish language until he could talk like a native, still not forgetting his mother tongue. For ten years Jim remained in South America, returning home as James M. Dobbs, Esq., and now he changes his title to Hon. J.M. Dobbs, consul to Valparaiso.
For some time he owned an interest in the Fulton Lumber Company, but he has now sold out.
Mrs. Emma Hahr-Dobbs, the Consul's Wife Mrs. Emma Hahr-Dobbs is possibly better known than her husband, having acquired before her marriage a national reputation as a musician of the highest repute. As Miss Hahr she was an Atlantian. She is a pupil of the famous Carl Klindworth and other such masters as Von Bulow and Lizst and was for several years in Germany.
Mrs. Hahr-Dobbs appears in Moulton's [sic; i.e. Willard, Frances]
"Women of the Century," which contains a thousand of the most prominent women of the times.
The latest work of Mrs. Hahr-Dobbs is a beautiful piece entitled
"Lullaby."

From the Atlanta Constitution, 30 January 1898, page 6:
Ex-Consul Dobbs at home again; He talks of the five years he has spent abroad; The Chilean people pictured; Trade and commerce of the sub-Andean republic; Most progressive in South America; The squeeze of the gold standard and its effect upon the people; A trip to the Hawaiian Islands; (Sketch of J.M. Dobbs included)
Marietta, Ga., January 29 (Special) -- One of the best posted men on all subjects and the most interesting to talk to in Georgia is Mr. J.M. Dobbs, ex-consul to Valparaiso. He is thoroughly conversant with the governments, people and their customs, the products of most every nation of any importance. He has traveled extensively and often in Europe and is familiar with almost the whole of the western hemi- sphere. He spoke the Spanish language fluently before he was sent to Valparaiso, five years since. Knowing their language as he did, he became thoroughly acquainted with the Chilean people and their country and trade. He perhaps knows their country better in every particular than any person who is not a native of that country.
Asked for his retention He was very vigorous in the prosecution of his duties as consul, an in looking out for every interest of our country. When Mr. McKinley was elected president and for political reasons it was expected that Mr. Dobbs's successor would immediately be named, the president of the National Association of Manu- facturers, together with committees from the Philadelphia commercial museums, without the knowledge of Mr. Dobbs, made a personal appeal to the president to continue him in office and gave as their reasons that he had so faithfully and ably represented our interests and had benefited the manufacturing interests of our country.
When asked for an interview for The Constitution on Chilean matters, Mr. Dobbs said, with pleasure:
"I think a great deal of that paper and shall be glad to give them any information I can.
"Chile is the most advanced of all South American republics and has had no war of consequence for 35 years, except the revolution of 1890. It is a strip of country about three thousand miles in length, running directly in northerly and southerly direction, and has all kinds of climates. It never rains in the north, but has a moderate rainfall in the central portion, and in the lumber and wood growing sections of the south they have ample rainfall. Valparaiso has a delightful climate, the thermometer ranging from 40 degrees in winter to never more than 90 degrees in summer, and is a charming city.
"The better classes of Chileans are highly educated and progressive and their statement are not excelled by those of any country. A more patriotic people are not to be found. They have great respect for the United States, and require only a little encouragement to be as friendly with us as either Peru or Brazil or Venezuela."
Change of monetary system
"Prior to 1895 the money of the country was paper, the peso, or dollar, having an original value of 38 pence, was fluctuating between 10 and 14 pence. In December 1895, the conversion law was passed, placing the country on a gold basis and making the value of the peso 13 pence. The effect of this law was to contract the currency, making money very scarce and interest high, the circulating medium having been cut from 92,000,000 to 50,000,000 pesos. For two years following the conversion act the country suffered a great deal, which, of course, was to be expected until a general liquidation throughout the country had been made. It was a new and interesting experience to me, as I had never before had an opportunity of studying the financial conditions of a country while undergoing a change in its money.
"Chile is a good wheat growing country and has from thirty to forty cargoes a year to dispose of. It is their principal article of agriculture, and brought a good price in 1897, which caused the situation to improve very much there just as it has in the west.
Nitrate industry
"The great industry and real life of northern Chile, the desert of Atacama, is nitrate of soda (saltpeter). The over production of this article and its competitor, sulphate of ammonia, which is being manufactured both in the US and Germany, has caused depression in the business of the country. There is, however, a brighter outlook at present for that industry, owing to recent opening of new markets in Hawaii and Japan, which countries are expected in the near future to become large purchasers of these articles. They also hope to have a greater demand from California and the west coast, owing to the increased culture of beer root.
"There has been a steady growth in commerce between Chile and the US for the past five years and an increasing demand for American manufactured articles up to the passage of the Dingley bill, which made it impossible for Chileans to send wool or hides to the US.
"They grow a class of wool different from any raised in this country, and while it was admitted free of duty, two-thirds of their entire production came to this country, in exchange for woodware, hardware, machinery, etc. Since the passage of this act they send their wool to England, and the effect of this duty will only cause an increased trade with Great Britain and decrease it with the US."
On Mr. Dobbs's return home he spent a month in Hawaii, studying the conditions there, and is heartily in favor of this country annexing the islands.

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From the 1890 Atlanta City Directory:
James M Dobbs, Dobbs Lumber Co, 173 Courtland avenue
Source Information: Atlanta City Directory, 1889. Atlanta, GA: R. L. Polk and Co., 1889. Atlanta City Directory, 1890. Atlanta, GA: R. L. Polk and Co., 1890.
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