J. N. DICKS, M. D.
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.