Doby-Dobby
Dobie-Dobbie
Dobey-Dobbey
Name Study

Profile managers: One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message] and Allan Capps [send private message]

About the Project

The Doby Name Study is also registered with the Guild of One Name Studies.

The Doby Name Study is a registered one-name study with the Guild of One Name Studies. Although the project carries the name "Doby", many surnames are included (Doby, Dobby, Dobie, Dobbie, Dobey, Dobbey, Dobe, Dobbe, Dawby, Dauby). The project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the Doby name, including spelling variants, related surnames, and descendants. The hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the Doby name and Doby descendants.

The Doby Name Study doubles as a dependancy study. Although some profiles may not carry the Doby (including spelling variants) name, profiles who descend from a Doby are included in the study. The hope is that profile managers will allow the project team to add categories, not visible in the biography, to these profiles.

Table of Contents

• Project Members
• Major Areas of Research
• Surname Variants
• Doby/Dobie/Dobey DNA Project
• United States
• Canada
• Australia
• Research Pages
• Doby/Dobie/Dobey Wikitree Profiles and Categories
• Task List
• Related Web Pages
• Common Errors Found in Family Trees
• How to Join the Project

Project Members

• Allan Capps - Project Coordinator/United States, focused on North Carolina and descendants of John Doby (1750-aft.1833).
• Harry Doby - United States, focused on Georgia and descendants of William Doby (1798-1880)
• Cheryl Sershon - United States, focused on South Carolina
• Charles Dobie - Canada
• Paul Doby - Australia
• Darren Kellett - New Zeland descendants of Alexander Dobbie

Current Major Areas of Research

• United States
• Canada
• Australia

Surname Variants

• Doby - Dobby
• Dobie - Dobbie
• Dobey - Dobbey
• Dobe - Dobbe
• Dauby
• Dawby

Doby DNA Project

A DNA Project has been established on FamilyTreeDNA. If you have completed a DNA test on FamilyTreeDNA you can join the group. If you have completed a DNA test on Ancestry, 23andMe, or MyHeritage, you can upload your DNA results from those sites to FamilyTreeDNA using the "Autosomal Transfer" option at the bottom of the "Add On & Upgrades" page, and then join the group. If you have questions, please contact the project team at dobynamestudy@gmail.com

United States

Most White/Caucasian Dobys in the United States can trace their roots to John Doby who immigrated from England (probably) to Surry County, Virginia sometime before 1677, when he bought land in James City County, Virginia. This Doby family settled in the area that would become Albemarle Parish, Surry County, Virginia before branching out primarily to North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia, but with branches of the family all over the country. As of 18 Jun 2023, the Doby Name Study research has documented Dobys in 17 states.

There are many branches of Black/African American Dobys in the States. Their families can be traced to Doby slave owners primarily in Virginia and South Carolina. Many of the Dobys in southeast Virginia in the 1600 and 1700s owned slaves. Additionally, James Cureton Doby (1801-1850) from Camden, SC was one of the largest slave owners in the county in the early 1800s.^[1][2] As of 18 Jun 2023, no records have been found that indicate the Dobys in North Carolina owned slaves.

As of Jan 1, 2024 there are 6548 people in the Doby/Dobie tree for the United States. The focus of the current research is the descendants of Thomas William Doby (abt.1824-aft.1867). He was born in Davidson County, NC. His descendants spread out to Alamance, Orange, Guilford, Randolph, Rowan, Mecklenburg, Stanley, Surry and other counties in North Carolina, plus several locations in Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and other states.

For updates on the project, like our Facebook page.

The research of the Doby/Dobie family in the United States will culminate in a series of books about the Doby family history and genealogy which will be divided into many volumes:

• Volume 1: First Settlers & Virginia. This volume will document the immigration and settlement of John Doby (1640-1722) from England (probabaly) to Virginia as well as his descendants in Virginia. It will also document to movement of Doby family members from VIrginia that resulted in large groups of Dobys in other regions of the country.
• Volume 2: North Carolina. This volume is currently in progress and is expected to be available in late 2023. It will cover the history and descendants of John Doby (1750-aft.1833), who is the progenitor of most Dobys that live in North Carolina. As of May 2022, the research has disovered large groups of descendants in Alamance, Davidson, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Orange, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, and Surry counties.
• Volume 3: South Carolina. This volume will cover the history and descendants of John Doby (1742-1781).
• Volume 4: Texas. This volume will cover the history and descendants of William Edmund Doby (Dunlap) (1777-1835).
• Volume 5: Georgia. This volume will cover the history and descendants of William Augustus Doby (1798-1880).
• Volume 6: African American. This volume will cover those of African descent who do not descend from John Doby (1640-1722), but got the Doby name from slave owners.

Australia

The Dobies of Australia can mostly be traced back to Scotland in the early 1800s. The most comprehensive research on the Dobie family in Australia has been conducted by Paul Doby. His research has not been entered into Wikitree yet, but it can be found here.

Canada

The Dobies in Canada can mostly be traced to Ireland and Scotland. The most comprehensive research on the Dobie/Doby family in Canada has been conducted by Charles Dobie. His research has not been entered into Wikitree yet, but it can be found here.

England

There are several spelling variations of the Doby name in, and not all the families are connected. Below is a list of the oldest profiles that have been found in each family line:

William Hugh Dobbie (1771-1830) (profile manager: Nicholas Keen)

New Zealand

These are several branches of Doby families in New Zealand that migrated from England and Scotland. Below is a list of the oldest person in each branch that was born in New Zealand or was the immigrant:

Alexander Dobbie (abt.1801-) (profile manager: Darren Kellett)

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study:

• The Ancestry tree for the Doby/Dobie family in the United States.
• Genealogy website for the Dobie family of Canada.
• Genealogy website for the Dobie family of Australia.
• The early Doby settlers in Rowan and Davidson Counties, NC, USA have been very confusing for many years. The research on the first generation of Dobys in those counties can be found here.

Wikitree Profiles and Categories

Profiles

• Earliest known Dobie/Doby in Australia.
• Earliest known Doby/Dobie in the United States.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in Georgia.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in New York.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in North Carolina.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in South Carolina.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in Texas.
  • Earliest known Doby/Dobie in Virginia.

Categories

• Veterans
• Australia
• Europe
  • Belgium
  • England
  • France
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Scotland
• North America
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • New Brunswick
    • Nova Scotia
  • United States
    • African American
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • District of Columbia
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Vermont
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming
• Oceania
  • New Zealand

Task List

• Add all persons to the Ancestry tree and to Wikitree. Progress tracked here: Doby Name Study Progress
• Research and document Black/African American Doby lines in the United States. (needs a researcher)
  • Create profiles for slaves of John Doby #10
  • Create profiles for slaves of Robert Doby
  • Create profiles for slaves of William Doby
  • Create profiles for slaves of Nathaniel Doby #1
  • Create profiles for slaves of Charles G Potts
  • Create profiles for slaves of Robert Neville Dobie
• Setup a Doby DNA project on Familytreedna.com. (complete) - to join, search for "Doby" in the DNA projects.
• Separate Doby Name Study category by country (complete)

Related Web Pages

• Research on the Dobies in Canada - https://dobiegenealogy.org/g-list1.htm
• Research on the Dobies in Australia - https://dobie.name/default.htm
• Research on Elizabeth (Doby) Gee (abt.1745-aft.1773), daughter of William and Hannah Doby - https://geesnmore.wordpress.com/charles-gee-iii
• Virginia Vital Records.
• Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917.
• Houston Archeological Society Newsletter, Number 70, August 1981, page 16. (Some of the information in this source is thought to be incorrect. Use with caution.)

Common Errors Found in Family Trees

• Moses Doby - The Wikitree and Ancestry entries to Moses Doby were originally created by Allan Capps based on a marriage index. After the original, hand-written marriage record was found, it was clear that the last name was DOTY, not DOBY, meaning when the marriage index was transcribed from the marriage record, it was incorrectly written as "Doby". There is currently no record that a Moses Doby ever existed in North Carolina. If you find information to the contrary, please contact Allan Capps.
• John Jarrot Doby - Many Ancestry trees have an entry for John Jarrot Doby. John and Jarrot are two different people. Both can be found on the 1790 Census in North Carolina. John Doby (abt.1640-1722) was a white man who was counted on the 1790 Census in Wake County, NC. Jarrott Doby was a Free Person of Color who was counted on the 1790 Census in Northampton County, NC. If you find sources to the contrary, please contact Allan Capps.

How to Join the Project

To join the Doby Name Study, please contact the Doby/Dobie Name-Study Coordinator: Allan Capps for assistance.