J. N. DICKS, M. D.

 

     Dr. J. N. Dicks, who is a native of Iowa, has ever since he graduated been engaged in the practice of medicine at Cambria and is one of the oldest and most successful physicians of Wayne county.  He was born in Independence township, Appanoose county, September 4, 1850, his parents moving there the year previous, and is a son of Samuel M. and Margaret Jane (Etter) Dicks.  The father was born in Kentucky in 1816 and passed away in Appanoose county in 1878, while the mother, who was born in Indiana in 1832, died in Appanoose county in 1896, surviving her husband for eighteen years.  In young manhood the father came to Iowa to make a prospective tour of the country and make himself acquainted with the agricultural possibilities, returning to Indiana, where he remained for two years.  In 1849, however, he once more moved westward and entered land in Appanoose county, where he successfully followed agricultural pursuits until his death, being one of the early pioneers of that section.  In their family were eight children, as follows:  Mrs. Mary Makin, residing in Appanoose county on the farm adjoining that on which she was born; Dr. Dicks, of this review; Charles H., who, in May, 1906, passed away at Des Moines, Iowa; Oscar N., living in Appanoose county on the old home farm where he was born and reared; Hiram M., a resident of Monroe county, Iowa; Mrs. Sarah F. Cavett, who makes her home with the subject of this sketch; and Jacob Elmer and Ella C., twins, both residing in Appanoose county.  The eldest of the children was born in Indiana but all the younger ones are natives of Appanoose county and there they were reared.

     Dr. Dicks was reared under the parental roof on the old homestead and attended the schools of the neighborhood in the acquirement of an education.  His early advantages along that line were such as were available under pioneer conditions when the country was still unsettled and settlements were sparse.  Early in life there developed in him a bent toward a professional career and as he ripened in years he decided upon the medical profession as that for which he felt most adapted and subsequently attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, in pursuance of a professional education and graduated from that institution with the class of 1876.  Having received his degree, he immediately began to practice at Cambria, where he has ever since remained.  As the years have passed his clientage has increased and his reputation is such that the same is derived from a large surrounding territory.  He is careful in diagnosis, but after he has come to a decision and has recognized the nature of a case is quick to apply the needed remedies.  Capable, earnest and conscientious in the performance of his duties, he has during the long years of his practice demonstrated an ability which is far above the average, resulting in a practice which has made him prosperous.  As his means have increased he has largely invested in valuable real estate and owns today two hundred and forty acres of fertile land, including eighty acres on section 29, as well as one hundred and sixty acres on section 33, all in Washington township, and on these he has two complete sets of improvements.  Besides his beautiful home in Cambria he owns there two business properties and also another residence which he rents out, and, moreover, owns property of the same character in Corydon.  From his various interests Dr. Dicks receives a gratifying income which, in connection with what his practice nets him, puts him in an independent financial position and has made him one of the substantial men in the locality.

     In 1872, Dr. Dicks married, in Appanoose county, Miss Barthena Miner, a native of West Virginia, who passed away only two years after her marriage, in Monroe county, Iowa, in January, 1874.  There was one daughter born of this union, Mrs. Effie M. Moore, on October 13, 1873, her husband being vice president of the Anchor Fire Insurance Company of Des Moines, where they reside.  On April 3, 1879, the Doctor was again married, his second union being with Miss Jennie Nelson, a native of Washington township, this county, born August 7, 1856.  She attended the public schools of her native county in the acquirement of an education and there grew to womanhood and spent her entire life.  Her parents were John M. and Sarah (McCutcheon) Nelson, the former a native of Mason county, West Virginia, born September 4, 1834, and the latter born in Floyd county, Indiana, April 22, 1837.  The parents became early pioneers of Wayne county, traveling overland in the primitive ways of the early days to this county in 1854, spending the remainder of their lives here, where both passed away, the death of the mother occurring March 20, 1904.  Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were the parents of nine children:  Jennie, the wife of our subject; Rev. W. A. Nelson, born February 23, 1859, of Marble Rock, Iowa; Mrs. Frances A. Hickman, born August 30, 1861, residing in Clay township, this county; French L., born February 14, 1865, who passed away April 17, 1865; Mrs. Hester Donahue, born March 11, 1866 a resident of Mountain Valley, Kansas; Leonard, born February 21, 1868, who passed away at the age of six and a half years, October 13, 1874; Julius, born May 2, 1871, residing at Benedict, Kansas; Isaac, whose birth occurred January 16, 1876, residing in this county; and Vesta, born July 26, 1878, who died shortly before her first birthday, July 6, 1879.  All of the children were natives of Wayne county and were reared here.  Dr. and Mrs. Dicks are the parents of two children:  Mrs. Bertha Wright, who was born in Cambria, October 21, 1880, and is now a resident of Corydon, Iowa; and Charles, born February 4, 1883, who is residing on the farm of his father near Cambria, Iowa, and managing the property for him.

     The political affiliation of Dr. Dicks is with the democratic party and, although he has never found time or occasion to aspire to public office, he takes a laudable interest in all matters of public importance and has been a factor in general advancement and development in this section.  The family are members of the Baptist church of Cambria, in the active work of which Dr. and Mrs. Dicks take great interest and to which they give their material and moral support.  He has fraternal relations with the Yeomen, being connected with the lodge at Cambria, and also was formerly a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  Thirty-seven years of active service as a physician have brought him in contact with most of the people in this district and there is no one who is more highly esteemed and respected than Dr. Dicks for his professional accomplishments as well as for his high qualities of character.  There have been no spectacular phases in his life record but his has been a career devoted to his profession, in the course of which he has done perhaps more to help humanity and to alleviate sickness than any of his colleagues in the county.  Successful in the truest sense of the word, he is unusually broad-minded, tolerant and kind and, never mercenary or grasping, he believes in something greater than mere material wealth and in the course of a long professional career, spent simply and unostentatiously, has been a powerful factor for good within the confines of his activity.

 

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