Samuel Atkinson Dobbins

Samuel Atkinson Dobbins (April 14, 1814 – May 26, 1886) was a Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1877. He served as the sheriff of Burlington County, New Jersey, from 1854 to 1857 and was active in state and national Republican politics during the mid-nineteenth century.

Dobbins was born near Vincentown in Southampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, on April 14, 1814. He attended both private and public schools in his youth and early adulthood. After completing his schooling, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, beginning a lifelong association with farming that would shape his professional and public life. In 1838 he moved to Mount Holly Township, New Jersey, where he continued to farm and established himself as a member of the local community.

Dobbins’s public career began at the county level. He was elected high sheriff of Burlington County and served from 1854 to 1857, overseeing law enforcement and the administration of county courts during a period of growing political tension in the United States. Building on his local prominence, he entered state politics and served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1859 to 1861. During these years, he aligned himself with the emerging Republican Party and participated in the political realignments that preceded and accompanied the Civil War.

As an established Republican leader in New Jersey, Dobbins was chosen as a delegate to the 1864 Republican National Convention, which renominated President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Beyond elective office, he was also active in educational and religious circles. Beginning in 1866, he served as a trustee of the Pennington Seminary (later Pennington School) in Pennington, New Jersey. He remained on the board until his death in 1886 and served as president of the board of trustees for ten years, reflecting his sustained interest in Methodist education and the training of young people.

Dobbins was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses, representing New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1877. His service in Congress occurred during the Reconstruction era, a significant period in American history marked by efforts to restore the Union and define the rights of formerly enslaved people. As a member of the Republican Party representing New Jersey, he contributed to the legislative process during his two terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents in southern New Jersey. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1876.

After leaving Congress in 1877, Dobbins returned to Mount Holly Township and resumed his agricultural pursuits, continuing the farming activities that had anchored his life before and after his political career. He remained involved in local affairs and in his responsibilities as a trustee and board president at Pennington Seminary until the end of his life.

Samuel Atkinson Dobbins died in Mount Holly, New Jersey, on May 26, 1886. He was interred in Mount Holly Cemetery, closing a career that spanned local law enforcement, state legislation, national party politics, and two terms in the United States House of Representatives.