Harriet Dobbs (August 27, 1808 – May 14, 1887), later Harriet Dobbs Cartwright, was an Irish-born Canadian philanthropist.

Early life

Harriet Dobbs, a member of the family of Castle Dobbs,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Her parents were Conway Edward Dobbs, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, and Maria Sophia Dobbs. She married Robert Cartwright, from

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, in Dublin in 1832, and moved with her husband to Kingston in 1833.McKenna, Katherine M. J
"'The Union between Faith and Good Works': The Life of Harriet Dobbs Cartwright, 1808-1887"
in Elizabeth Gillan Muir and Marilyn Färdig Whiteley, eds., ''Changing Roles of Women Within the Christian Church in Canada'' (University of Toronto Press ): 284-298. Robert was the son of Richard Cartwright, a

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...

. His twin brother, John Solomon Cartwright, became a respected lawyer, banker, businessman and politician.

In Canada

Because her husband was an Anglican clergyman, assistant to Archdeacon George Okill Stuart, Dobbs was soon drawn into church and charity work in Kingston. She taught Bible study classes and Sunday school, held sewing and choir group meetings in her home, and joined the Female Benevolent Society of Kingston (FBS). She managed the society's hospital along with others, and organized the annual fundraising bazaar. She also painted portraits to raise money for the FBS. After a fire closed the society's works for a few years, she restarted the FBS in 1839, as a charity focused on visiting, temperance, and caring for the city's poor. Harriet Dobbs was secretary of the Orphans' Home and Widows' Friend Society for 31 years, fundraising and overseeing an orphanage, school, and women's workshop. She visited women in prison, advocated for them, and organized Christmas parties for them with her brother, Francis Dobbs, a prison chaplain. Harriet Dobbs Cartwright was also a skilled

watercolourist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

Personal life

Dobbs married Robert David Cartwright in Dublin. He was the son of Richard Cartwright of Kingston, Upper Canada. They had a daughter and four sons; one of their sons was banker and politician

Richard John Cartwright Sir Richard John Cartwright (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a ...

, who served in the federal Cabinet under

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime min ...

. Her first son died in infancy. She was widowed when Rev. Cartwright died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1843, and she died in 1887, aged 78 years; her grave is in

Cataraqui Cemetery Cataraqui Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1850, it predates Canadian Confederation, and continues as an active burial ground. The cemetery is 91 acres in a rural setting with rolling w ...

in Kingston. Her husband's twin brother, John Solomon Cartwright, was a well-respected businessman, lawyer and judge. He also died of tuberculosis, two years after her husband.

References

External links

Cartwright family fonds
Archives of Ontario * *Virtual Paper Workshop: Victoria Cosby (Queen’s University)
“Sisters Suffering Separation: Harriet Dobbs Cartwright and her Siblings Spread from Upper Canada to India”
(May 8, 2020). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbs, Harriet 1808 births 1887 deaths Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian women philanthropists People from Dublin (city) people from Kingston, Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada 19th-century Canadian philanthropists 19th-century women philanthropists