Henry DeWitt Dobbs was President of Dobbs & Co., the subsidiary retail company of Crofut & Knapp, as well as a shareholder and president of the company. It is his name that was used on the Dobbs & Co. stores' own brand of hats, Dobbs Fifth Avenue, made by Crofut & Knapp.[1]  Dobbs was born June 22, 1858, the same year as the Crofut & Knapp partnership.[2]  Although his name became synonymous with New York hats, the family name also has a prominent place in New York history for another reason, as his ancestors had founded Dobbs Ferry, NY.  His uncle, Howell Dobbs, worked for Dunlap & Co., and that is probably how Dobbs also came to work as a hatter.[3]  H. DeWitt Dobbs worked for Dunlap & Co. in New York City for twenty-eight years before being snatched away by John Cavanagh and Robert A. Holmes.  At the time of his departure from Dunlap & Co. in July 1908, he was the manager of their Fifth Avenue outlet store.[4] Besides having extensive experience running a retail hat shop, H. DeWitt Dobbs' father, William H. Dobbs, had been one of the Sachems, or leaders, in Tammany Hall, and if DeWitt Dobbs had political connections, that may have been a deciding factor in his being hired.[5]  In any case, DeWitt Dobbs remained in the background when it came to publicity, almost as a silent figurehead, though I'm sure he was active in helping to run the company.  DeWitt's son, William H. Dobbs, also joined Dobbs & Co. shortly after World War I and remained with the company until 1932.[6]  H. DeWitt Dobbs also served for a time as President of the Board of Education in New Rochelle, NY.[7]  H. DeWitt Dobbs passed away in Olive, NY, on September 17, 1926.[8]

~The Hatted Professor

 

[1]The C&K Book, 35.

[2]H. DeWitt Dobbs, Application for Sons of the American Revolution, Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=2204&path=176.412&sid=&gskw=Henry+Dewitt+Dobbs

[3]"Howell Dobbs," Obituary, New York Times, June 12, 1915.

[4]Items of Interest," The American Hatter, July 1908, 82.

[5]"Mrs. Sarah A. Day," Obituary, New York Times, November 29, 1941, 17

[6]"William H. Dobbs Dies at 66; Ex-Aide of Hat Company," New York Times, March 26, 1967.

[7]"Howell Dobbs," Obituary, New York Times, June 12, 1915.

[8]"Died," New York Times, September 18, 1926. A tip of the hat to Ms. J. Willis for the source of H. DeWitt Dobbs's death notice.

© 2016 J. Bradford Bowers