Past Sheriff of Yuma County

 

Sheriff (Colonel) Marcus D. Dobbins
badge
Term Dates
December 10, 1866 - September 14, 1867
(Appointed by BOS)
 

Marcus D. Dobbins was appointed as Sheriff of Yuma County by the Yuma County Board of Supervisors (BOS) on December 10, 1866 to replace William T. Flower upon his resignation.

Having been appointed, Dobbins ran for Sheriff in the election held on June 5, 1867. His opponent for the office of Sheriff was David King. On June 17, 1867, Dobbins was declared to be elected to the office of Sheriff by the BOS based on the election returns received and he was issued a Certificate of Election.

On June 28, 1867, during a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the Chairman made a motion to reconsider their action in which a Certificate of Election was issued to Dobbins for the office of Sheriff based on information since received. Dobbins, who was in attendance, stated to the BOS that he withdrew his claim to the Certificate of Election which he already returned to the chairman of the board. He also stated that he had no objection with the Certificate of Election being issued to David King. After consideration by the board, the motion was declared carried. The clerk of the board was ordered to issue a Certificate of Election to David King, and the certificate issued to Dobbins was declared null and void. According to an article in the Arizona Miner dated July 13, 1867, it was alleged that the returns from Empire Flat were fictitious.

Although he lost the election, Sheriff Dobbins still had several months remaining in his appointed position, during which controversies arose regarding tax monies he had collected. On August 7, 1867, the clerk read to the BOS a petition from Sheriff Dobbins requesting an increase of pay for services as Assessor and Sheriff. The board voted unanimously that his petition be referred to the Finance committee, which was to report at the next BOS meeting.

On Saturday, August 31, 1867, during a meeting of the BOS, it was ordered the official bond of Dobbins as Sheriff and the bond of Dobbins as Tax Collector were insufficient. The board also stated on good authority that Sheriff Dobbins had neglected to settle his accounts with the Treasurer according to law, and that it was believed by the public that it was his intention to leave the county and territory. The board ordered that Dobbins be required to give additional or new bonds for the office of Sheriff and Tax Collector before proceeding to collect any more taxes. It was also ordered that he “pay over to the County Treasurer all monies now in his hands belonging to the County of Yuma and the Territory of Arizona, and exhibited to the said County Treasurer such blank receipts as are in his possession for collecting License and Poll taxes for examination.”

The BOS convened a special meeting on Monday, September 2, 1867 at the request of Sheriff Dobbins to address the cause concerning the order of additional bonds. Sheriff Dobbins presented witnesses to establish that he did not intend to leave the county as stated in a preamble to the order requiring the filing of new bonds and demanded that the preamble be expunged from the record. The board adjourned without taking any action.

On Wednesday, September 4, 1867, the BOS ordered to expunge from the record the preamble regarding Sheriff Dobbins as entered on record at the August 31, 1867 meeting. Sheriff Dobbins made a statement of indebtedness to the Treasurer before the board. He requested an extension to make payment to the Treasurer and file the additional bonds as required. The board granted Sheriff Dobbins a ten-day extension.

According to the minutes of a special meeting of the BOS held on the morning of Saturday, September 14, 1867, the District Attorney (DA) informed the board that Dobbins had turned the office of the Sheriff over to David King with deficiencies and that David King was now performing the duties of Sheriff of Yuma County. The DA also officially notified the board that Dobbins did not file the new or additional bonds as required. The BOS issued an order directed to Dobbins “commanding him to forthwith deliver the Assessment Roll of the County of Yuma for 1867 with warrant thereto affixed to the chairman of the Board of Supervisors.”  When the BOS reconvened later that afternoon, the chairman of the board stated that he had not received the Assessment Roll from Dobbins as required by order of the BOS previous meeting. The board requested that Dobbins, who was present at the meeting, state the reason why he had not complied with the order. Dobbins stated that he was not prepared to answer the inquiry. At this point, the BOS moved to order the DA to proceed against Dobbins according to law to recover possession of the Assessment Roll.

On September 16, 1867, when Dobbins refused to comply with the order of the BOS demanding that he turn over the Assessment Roll, the BOS declared the Assessment Roll “to be null and void and of no effect and further force.” The BOS then authorized the DA and the Sheriff (David King) to make a copy of the County Treasurer’s Assessment Roll so that it could be substituted as the original Assessment Roll.

On September 17, 1867, Dobbins appeared before the BOS and offered to deliver the Assessment Roll. He also requested that all resolutions and orders passed by the board concerning the Assessment Roll be expunged from the record as the controversy was settled by the delivery of the Roll. The BOS voted to expunge all orders and resolutions passed regarding the Assessment Roll since it was returned and they reached satisfactory settlement. The BOS then ordered that the original assessment be declared to continue to be the roll by which taxes were to be collected. Supervisor William Werninger then entered a motion regarding the late (June 5, 1867) election and fraudulent election returns, ordering the District Attorney to “proceed according to law and prosecute the guilty person or person if there be any.” The motion passed unanimously.

It is unknown if Supervisor Werninger requested the investigation into the fraudulent election returns out of anger because of the trouble Dobbins caused the board regarding the tax monies and Assessment Roll. Supervisor Werninger, along with the other board members, may have believed that Dobbins was one of the perpetrators in the election fraud. No record was found that any further action taken in this matter.

The controversy regarding the tax monies and Assessment Roll did not seem to affect Dobbins’ political or professional life in the least since he went on to serve in several different county and state offices after turning the office of the Sheriff over to David King.

  • On November 6, 1867, the BOS appointed Dobbins to serve as a Justice of the Peace for the La Paz Township No. 1.
  • On April 5, 1868, the BOS appointed Dobbins to serve as the Justice of the Peace for the Yuma County Township No. 2. He would hold office until a successor could be elected at the next general election.
  • June 3, 1868, he was elected District Attorney. BOS minutes from June 15, 1868 ordered the clerk to issue a Certificate of Election
  • October 22, 1868: Dobbins was elected to represent Yuma County during a special election to fill a vacancy of council member in the Arizona Legislature.
  • June 2, 1869, he was re-elected as District Attorney
  • November 8, 1870, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Sixth Arizona Legislature. He was elected as Speaker of the House.
 

Sheriff Marcus D. Dobbins was born in Pennsylvania in 1826. He had four brothers and four sisters.

Prior to being appointed Sheriff of Yuma County, Dobbins served in the military. He was a Lieutenant Colonel with the 5th Infantry California Volunteers when he resigned on October 31, 1862. On September 5, 1866, Dobbins was elected to the House of Representatives of the Third Arizona Legislature.

Marcus D. Dobbins died at the age of 45 years of age in Arizona City (Yuma) on August 28, 1871. He was buried in the Post Cemetery at Fort Yuma, California. He was survived by his mother, Mary, brothers David and Leander, and sisters Elizabeth, Eliza and Mary.

Resources
Following are newspaper articles found on the internet and research information used to put together the brief biography for Sheriff Marcus D. Dobbins:

 
Back to Top