Career
A native of Pleyben, France, Tobin joined the United States. Navy from Brest. By July 3, 1871, he was serving as a landsman on the United States Ship Plymouth. On that day, while the Plymouth was at the Portuguese of Hamburg, Germany, a small boat approached the ship in a strong current.
When the boat capsized, Tobin and another sailor, Quarter Gunner George Holt, jumped overboard and rescued one of the boat"s crewmen.
On board the United States.S. Plymouth, Hamburg Harbor, 3 July 1871. Jumping overboard at the imminent risk of his life, Tobin, with a comrade, rescued from drowning one of a party who was thrown from a shore boat into a 4-knot running tide while the boat was coming alongside the ship.
