Tobyn Family History & Genealogy

History

In the early 1800s, the now Irish Tobins immigrated to the US. One of them found his way to New Orleans as a riverboat gambler, then a plantation owner. He married into the Mandeville family, and had two sons, one of whom, Peter Mandeville Tobin, moved to Missouri and started his own plantation. He is said to have had over 1,000 slaves, and my great-grandfather, James Mandeville ("Blackjack") Tobin, was raised there and married Sophie Ann Peterson. My grandfather, John Albert Tobin, was raised by his mother and stepfather (James' nickname was for a reason). It was not until John moved to Spokane and discovered that there was a black man with the same name that he changed his surname to Tobyn (his answer to any questions about his family was "Read "The Foxes of Harrow"). Our son, Robert Tobyn May, conincidentally, married Megan Tobin, so we have both spellings to deal with.

Name Origin

The name can be traced back to France and the name "de S. Aubyn" then d'Aubyn. When the name was carried to Ireland, it changed to Tobyn, then Tobin. (This is the explanation thet I was given by my aunt, who said that she had done the research.)

Spellings & Pronunciations

Tobin

Nationality & Ethnicity

Tobyn, while still in France (d'Aubyn) was tied to the Mandeville family. As I understand it, the Count de Mandeville settled New Orleans, and another branch (d'Aubyn) made their way to Ireland.

Famous People named Tobyn

Margaret Tobin of Missouri married a Colorado businessman named Brown. She is better known as "the unsinkable Molly Brown".

Early Tobyns

These are the earliest records we have of the Tobyn family.