Robert Gaston Dobbins, called "Gaston" was named after his father's older brother, Robert Gaston Dobbins, who was born 19 June 1828 in Clermont, Ohio, son of James A. & Elizabeth Perkins Dobbins, and who died in Fulton County, Illinois on 28 July 1851at the age of 23. He is buried in the Dobbins Cemetery in Vermont Twp., Fulton Co., IL

Gaston and his brother Scott attended school in Las Animas. At some point in their lives they began taking lessons on musial instrumnts. By age 15 Gaston was proficient on the trombone. Music played an important part in Gaston's life. In the 1890s, towns had community bands, as did the railroad companies. These bands would engage in competitions, which drew entrants from surrounding states. The brothers played in the Las Animas band as teenagers. As they got older, during the summers they also played in the Midland Railroad band, headquartered in Colorado City (now Colorado Springs.}

His undated obituary states "Gaston was a serious young man, and after graduating from Las Animas High School, he went to Great Bend, Kansas to attend college. For fourteen years he taught in the public schools of Bent County. He was assistant postmaster at the Las Animas Post Office for five years and then in 1908 he went to work for the American Crystal Sugar Company in the accounting field, first in Las Animas and finally in Rocky Ford, Colorado, a short distance west of Las Animas. Gaston developed a lifelong love of band and orchestra music. For more than 25 years, he directed the Rocky Ford City Band and Summer Concerts and many young people under his tutelage became musicians."

1. Traber Norman Dobbins b: 25 NOV 1896 in Las Animas, Bent County, CO

• Married: 3 NOV 1900 in La Junta, Otero, CO

1. Percy Marvin Dobbins b: 15 APR 1902 in Las Animas, Bent County, CO