Because her husband was an Anglican clergyman, assistant to Archdeacon George Okill Stuart, Dobbs was soon drawn into church and charity work in Kingston.

[4] She taught Bible study classes and Sunday school, held sewing and choir group meetings in her home, and joined the Female Benevolent Society of Kingston (FBS).

After a fire closed the society's works for a few years, she restarted the FBS in 1839, as a charity focused on visiting, temperance, and caring for the city's poor.

[2][3] Harriet Dobbs was secretary of the Orphans' Home and Widows' Friend Society for 31 years, fundraising and overseeing an orphanage, school, and women's workshop.

[2][3] Her husband's twin brother, John Solomon Cartwright, was a well-respected businessman, lawyer and judge.