San Francisco County
Biographies
Major Moses G. Cobb,
a prominent lawyer of San Francisco, was born in Princeton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, November 24, 1820, and is the son of
New England parents; the father, Elias H. Cobb, was a carriage manufacturer in
Princeton; the mother’s maiden name was Rebecca Boylston. Our subject received his education in New
England, and was graduated from Harvard University in 1843; he then studied
law, graduating at the law school of Harvard
University in 1846. He then engaged in
the practice of law in Boston, from 1846 to 1861, the legal firm being Dana
& Cobb.
At an early day
Major Cobb took an active interest in military affairs, and in 1853 organized
the Boston Light Artillery, which was under his command until 1858. Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion he raised
a new company known as Cobb’s Battery, went to the front and served in the army
of the Potomac. In the winter of 1861 he
resigned the command of this battery and came to the Pacific coast, located at
Stockton and engaged in the practice of his profession there till 1867, when he
came to San Francisco, and for the past twenty-three years he has been a
successful practitioner in the courts of the city and State. At the outset of the paper he was connected
with the San Francisco Law Journal, holding the position of editor on
pleading; his extensive experience and natural ability fitted him well for his
work, which he conducted for quite a while.
While a resident
of Stockton Major Cobb was a member of the School Board; he raised the Stockton
light Battery, and held the command for two years, until he left that
city. While living in his native State
he was a member of the Governor’s Council for a term of years. He was a commander of the Ancient Honorable
Artillery Corps in 1856,—a branch of the corps of the same name there and now
established in London, and founded in Boston in 1836.
Politically the
Major is identified with the Republican party. He was formerly a Whig, afterward a Douglas
Democrat. For a great many years he has
been a prominent member of the Masonic Order; he is a Knight Templar, and also
belongs to the Boston Encampment, Boston, Massachusetts, I. O. O. F., and Olive
Branch Lodge, at Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Transcribed by Donna L. Becker
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2,
page 84, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Donna L. Becker.