Dashiell, Mark A. (1826-1907)

DASHIELL

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Date: 6/13/2021 at 14:17:10

Mark Anthony Dashiell
(October 7, 1826 - July 3, 1907)

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.701
DASHIELL, MARK A., Richland Township, Dr., physician and surgeon; P. O. Richland; born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1826; his natural taste led him to the selection of medicine as a profession; he came to this county in 1853, and settled in Hartford, Richland township, which has since been his home, where he has long since attained high rank in the profession and built up a large and lucrative practice, extending many miles into the country, and being often called upon by his brother practitioners in other localities to consultations on serious and critical cases; he is a member of the Warren County Medical Society and the State Medical Association; he has served as a member in both the lower and upper house of the Iowa State Legislature; his presence in the sick room is often not less beneficial to the desponding patient than his professional treatment; as a physician he is attentive and obliging; he possesses considerable professional pride and courtesy, and is highly esteemed by the profession for his ability, skill and integrity; in all places and under all circumstances he is loyal to Truth, Honor and Right; few men have more devoted friends or merit more the confidence and esteem of their fellow-citizens; he married Miss L. Noble, in 1851; she was born in Indiana; their family consists of five children: Mary, Jessie, Martha, Noble and Mark A.

MARK ANTONY DASHIELL
born Oct 7, 1826, Indiana
Hon. Mark Antony Dashiell, M.D., one of the few living pioneers of Warren county, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana October 7, 1826, a son of Charles and Nancy (Mosten) Dashiell. The father was a native of Baltimore, Maryland where he received a collegiate education, and became a surveyor by profession. After coming North, he was County Surveyor of Dearborn county, Indiana and also of Will county, Illinois where he died. He was married in Ohio to Nancy Mosten, a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent. After her husband's death she lived in the home of our subject, and her death occurred in Warren county. The parents became residents of Indiana before its admission as a State. Mr. and Mrs. Dashiell had fifteen children as follows: Mosten is a retired merchant at Indianapolis; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Sherman, a widow, resides at Portland, Oregon; Cynthia became Mrs. McCreary and died recently at Seymour, Indiana; John died in middle life at Kankakee, Illinois; Mark A. is the subject of this sketch; Malina, widow Mr. Harris, resides in St Louis, Missouri; Mahala died in infancy; Charles Wesley, an ex-soldier, died at Kansas City, Missouri; Rebecca, widow of Mr. Davis, lives in Chicago; George, also an ex-soldier, resides at Portland, Oregon; Henry, three years a Captain in the army, is a resident of Spokane Falls, Washington; Virgil Williams, also a Captain in the army, resides in Chicago; and twin brothers, as well as the remaining number of the children, died in infancy. Our subject can remember when the family table was for fourteen. Of the nine brothers, five them served an aggregate of sixteen years during the late Civil war. Mark Antony Dashiell was reared to manhood in his native State. After graduating the Indianapolis high school, he entered Greencastle College, but retired from that before completing the course. His medical tutor was the well known Dr, Sutton, of Aurora, Indiana, in whose office he spent some time in preparatory work. In 1851 Mr. Dashiell graduated at the Indianapolis Medical College, practicing two years in his native county, and came to Warren county, Iowa in 1853. Thirty years of his professional life were spent Hartford, in the northeast corner of county. The Doctor has been longer in practice in the county than any other physician here. The pioneer physician had many hardships to endure not known to the practitioners of modern days. His rides were often not only long but very hazardous, there being no traveled roads, settlers widely separated, and the winters were much more rigorous then now. Under these unfavorable circumstances it is not strange that the name of the faithful physician was honored and revered by the settlers, and he came to be regarded as an angel of mercy. No day was too cold or night too dark and dreary for him to go to the bedside the sick and dying. Dr. Dashiell built up an excellent practice at Hartford, but as the years came creeping he found that his extensive country practice was more than his physical condition could well bear. In 1868 he accepted the nomination as a candidate for the State Legislature, at the hands of the Republican party, and was elected by an overwhelming majority. He was returned to the Senate in 1872, and re-elected to the same honorable position in 1878. He assisted in organizing the Republican party in Iowa, attended the first State convention of the party in the State, and has also been present at most of the conventions held here since. The Doctor has long been recognized as one of the strong men of the party and has sustained this distinguished position through all the years of his active life. As a campaign orator he was forceful and eloquent and to him is largely due the honor of bringing the prohibition amendment prominently before the people of the State, he being chairman of the committee which presented it to the Legislature. He then took the stump as an advocate for its passage, and has sustained every laudable effort to make it more effective in the later years. Few men have been more prominent or influential in the development of the State and in protecting her people with wise laws. As a physician and surgeon Dr. Dashiell has always sustained an honorable distinction both at home and abroad. In extreme and dangerous cases his counsel is sought by the younger physicians of the city, as a dutiful child would advise and counsel with its father. He also enjoys another distinction, that of having served continuously on the Board of United States Pension Examiners since 1863. Probably no other physician in Iowa has served as long a period. While the emoluments of this responsible position are not large, yet his continuance therein is complimentary to him in every sense. If the pensioner and the Government are satisfied, the examiner must of necessity be a man of sound judgment, professional skill and unquestioned honesty. The Doctor has also been prominent in the social orders, having served twenty consecutive years as the Master of the Masonic lodge at Hartford. He has also been prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having attained to the highest degree in order and filled the various official stations the subordinate lodge and encampment. At Indianapolis in 1851, our subject united in marriage with Miss Louisiana, daughter of Dr. S. F. Noble, a prominent physician of that city. His brother was Governor of Indiana. She received a liberal education in her native city. Dr. and Mrs. Dashiell had eleven children, namely: Mary Jane, wife of Mr. Spaulding, Secretary of the State of Pharmacy, and a resident of Des Moines; Jessie Benton, who had attained the age twenty years, a bright and promising young lady, when she was called to her reward; Martha, wife of Seigel Burbevry, a merchant Indianola; Noble, engaged in farming and stockraising on land owned by his father near Indianola; Mark Antony Jr., a medical student and now attending medical college in Des Moines; and six children deceased in infancy. The Dashiell family were generally given to long life, were of medium stature, though both extremes are represented and followed professional pursuits. Dr. Dashiell is a man of medium stature, a fluent and easy talker, well posted on current topics, and especially interesting in reciting experiences of the pioneer days, not susceptible to flattery, and altogether a genial, companionable old gentleman, whose counterpart we do not often meet. Both he and his wife are prominently identified with the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a member from early manhood. He is interested in the development of medical science, owns a well selected library of professional works, and is a prominent member of the State, District, and County Medical Associations, having served as president of the latter for two or three years. Since moving to Indianola in 1887, his practice has been largely confined to his office, although he still attends professional calls at seasonable times A history of the prominent families of Warren county would certainly be incomplete without a sketch of this venerable pioneer, as he has been prominently connected with the county in professional, political, social, and religious affairs for forty-two years. May he go down to a happy old age, and his life be an inspiration to struggling humanity in the generations to come.
Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.508

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.482
MARK ANTONY DASHIELL
The life of Hon. Mark A. Dashiell was such as causes his memory to be cherished by all with whom he came in contact. Choosing Warren County as a place of residence during the pioneer epoch in its history, he was from that time until his death a factor in its material, intellectual, social and moral development. He was one of the most masterful because one of the best bal­anced of men. He always looked at life from a rational standpoint, recog­nized the true value of its opportunities and its purposes and not only lived so as to develop his own powers but also aided others to work along the lines of greatest good.
A native of Indiana, Mr. Dashiell was born in Dearborn County, October 7, 1826, his parents being Charles and Nancy (Masten) Dashiell. The former was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and after acquiring a collegiate educa­tion he gave his attention to surveying. He followed that profession in Dearborn County, Indiana, and also in Will County, Illinois, where his last days were passed. In Ohio he married Miss Nancy Masten, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of German lineage. Following her husband's demise she made her home with her son, Mark A., and passed away in Warren County.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dashiell were fifteen children: Masten, a retired merchant at Indianapolis; Mrs. Elizabeth Sherman, a resi­dent of Portland. Oregon; Mrs. Cynthia McCreary, whose demise recently occurred at Seymour, Indiana ; John, who passed away in middle life at Kankakee, Illinois; Mark A. of this review; Mrs. Malina Harris, a widow living in St. Louis. Missouri; Mahala, who died in infancy; Charles Wesley, who served his country as a soldier and who passed away in Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Rebecca Davis, a widow who makes her home in Chicago; George, who was also a soldier and now resides in Portland, Oregon; Henry who for three years served as a captain in the army and now lives at Spokane Falls, Washington; Virgil William, who was also a captain in the army and resides in Chicago ; twin brothers and the remaining children died in infancy. Of the nine brothers, five of them were soldiers of the Civil war, their service amounting in the aggregate to sixteen years.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for Mark A. Dashiell in his boyhood and youth. He was reared in the state of his nativity and supplemented his early education by study in the high school of Indianapolis, from which he was graduated. He afterward matri­culated in Greencastle College but left that institution before completing the course. Determining upon the practice of medicine as his life work, he began reading in the office and under the direction of Dr. Sutton, of Aurora, Indiana, and in 1851 was graduated from the Indianapolis Medical College. Dr. Dashiell then located for practice in his native county, where he remained for two years and in 1853 arrived in Warren County, Iowa, to become a pioneer phy­sician of this part of the state. For thirty years he resided at Hartford in the northwestern portion of the county, and his practice exceeded in volume and importance that of any other member of the medical fraternity in this locality. In the early days when the county was sparsely settled, it was neces­sary that he take long rides across the prairies through the heat of summer or the winter's storms to minister to the sick and suffering. He never re­garded his personal comfort or safety when his professional service was in demand but responded readily to the call of all who needed him. His own unselfishness in this regard, combined with his ability as a practitioner, made him the loved family physician in many a household and his name is yet honored and cherished by those who knew him. For many years Dr. Dashiell enjoyed an extensive and profitable practice at Hartford but as the years came on apace he felt it necessary to withdraw from the country practice and all the hardships it entailed.
His usefulness was by no means limited to his professional labors, for in public service he rendered efficient aid to the county as its representative in the state legislature and in other capacities. In 1868 he accepted the nomina­tion of the Republican Party as a candidate for the general assembly and such was his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellowmen that he was elected by an overwhelming majority. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the state senate and was again made one of the solons of Iowa in a reelection in 1878. He likewise served once more in the thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies as representative from his district and was con­nected with much important constructive legislation through the work done in committee rooms. He had been one of the organizers of the Republican Party in Iowa, had attended the first state convention and for many years was always seen as a delegate in the conventions of the party in this state. His public service was actuated by the utmost fidelity to principle and devotion to the general good. His position was never an equivocal one, nor was he ever abusive of adversaries, but at the same time was unfaltering in a course which he believed to be right. As a campaign orator he was forceful and eloquent and to him was largely due the honor and credit of bringing the prohibition amendment prominently before the people of the state, being chair­man of the committee which presented it to the legislature. He then went upon the rostrum as an advocate of its passage and in his later years labored earn­estly to secure the enforcement of the law which he had been instrumental in passing. In all of his legislative work he looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future and mani­fested the most far-sighted judgment in his support of various political measures. Dr. Dashiell also enjoyed the distinction of being perhaps the oldest member of the United States board of pension examiners in Iowa, hav­ing been appointed to the position in 1863. In the discharge of his duties in that office he won the encomiums of the government and his labors were as well satisfactory to the pensioners. He was always recognized as a man of unquestioned integrity and honesty of purpose and such was the respect which the younger members of the medical fraternity entertained for his professional ability that they again and again sought his counsel and ad­vice in difficult cases.
Dr. Dashiell was married at Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1851, the lady of his choice being Miss Louisiana Noble, a daughter of Dr. B. S. Noble, a dis­tinguished physician of Indianapolis and a brother of one of Indiana's gov­ernors. Mrs. Dashiell received a liberal education and was a lady of culture and refinement, who enjoyed to the fullest extent the good will and love of those with whom she came in contact. By her marriage she became the mother of eleven children: Mary Jane, the wife of S. J. Spaulding, a resi­dent of Des Moines; Jessie Benton, who passed away in her twentieth year; Martha, the wife of F. S. Burberry, a merchant of Indianola; Noble, who was engaged in farming and stock-raising on land which was owned by his father near Indianola, and died in January 1898; Mark A. Jr., who died of tubercu­losis in August 1898, soon after graduation from the medical college at In­dianapolis, Indiana, and six children who died in infancy.
Dr. Dashiell served for twenty years as master of the Masonic lodge at Hartford and was also prominent in other fraternal organizations. He.was known as a leading member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he took all of the degrees and filled the various official positions both in the subordinate lodge and encampment. He held membership in the Pres­byterian Church of which his wife was likewise a devoted member. He became identified with that organization in early manhood and his religious belief largely permeated his life and shaped his conduct in his relations with his fellowmen. In professional lines he was connected with the state, dis­trict and county medical societies and of the last named served as president for two or three years. On giving up his country practice he removed to Indianola in 1887 and in his later years his attention was largely given to office practice. Many there were, who were loath to give up his services and he continued to attend them until he had reached the evening of life. He was more than eighty years of age when called to his final rest, passing away on the 3rd of July 1907. His good qualities were many, his faults very few. His entire life was characterized by a mental and moral development which gave him place as a man among men and has caused his name to be inscribed deeply on the roll of Warren County’s honored citizens.