Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Dickinson, Orvill C ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 5:37 pm Author: Genealogical/Biographical Publishing Co 0RVILL C. DICKINSON. Some men devote their lives to the accumulation of wealth, others to the mysteries of science; some pursue Fame's ever-fleeting shadow and some live for the enjoyment of the passing moment. But comparatively few give their lives, in constant self-sacrifice, to Christian service, seeking neither earthly fame nor financial returns, but content to labor and to walk in the footsteps of Him who said "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." It is in this spirit and in this service that the busy life of Mr. Dickinson has been spent, and now, in the afternoon of life's brief day, he can look back upon the past without remorse and forward to the future with the Christian's hope of eternal happiness. Elder Dickinson (for by this title our subject is best known) was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., September 10, 1836, a son of Horatio N. and Miranda (Titus) Dickinson. He was one of ten children and the second of six now living. Concerning the others we note the following: Charles is a well-known resident of Otsego County, Mich., and a deacon in a Baptist Church; Julia M. is the widow of Richard S. Poole, of Battle Creek, Mich.; Adeline E. is the wife of Rev. Silas W. Brookins, a Baptist minister in Dade County, Mo.; Albert P., a veteran of the Civil war, is a deacon in the Baptist Church in his home town in Dade County, Mo.; and Sumner H. is Sunday-school superintendent and a prominent church worker at Goodland, Ind. It will thus be seen that the members of the family are active in religious work in their various places of residence. Nathan Dickinson, our subject's grandfather, was born in Hartford County, Conn., the son of a Revolutionary soldier. He removed to Pottsdam, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and about twelve years later settled in Pitcairn, the same county, where he engaged in farming. He remained at Pitcairn until his death. In religion he was a Methodist, while his wife was a Presbyterian. Their son, Horatio N., was born in Rutland County, Vt., September 11, 1810, and was a year old when his parents settled in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., where he grew to manhood and married. In 1844 h removed to Ottawa County, Mich., and, after six years there, settled in Battle Creek, the same state. The year 1859 found him in Kankakee County, Ill., where he settled one-half mile south of the county line and near Manteno. Purchasing a farm, he continued to make his home there until his death. From early life he officiated as a deacon in the Baptist Church. He was a man of strictest integrity, one whose life exemplified the truth of his religious professions. His death occurred January 20, 1881. He had two brothers, Nathan and Justin, who served in the war of 1812. The mother of our subject, who is still living, was born in Rhode Island September 27, 1813, and now makes her home with her daughter, Julia, at Battle Creek, Mich. One of her sons, Anson, enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war and was shot before Atlanta July 22, 1864. Our subject was given good advantages when he was a boy, it being the wish of his parents that he might be well fitted for the responsibilities of life. He attended the high school at Battle Creek and his studies there, combined with his thoughtful reading in later years, gave him a broad education. His health was not strong enough to permit a college education, which his father wished to give him. November 6, 1857, Mr. Dickinson married Susan A. Beedle, a native of Ashtabula County, Ohio, and a daughter of Emory Beedle. Her father, who was a farmer, came to Illinois in 1865 and settled at Wilton Center, where he died in July, 1871. While he was not a member of the conference, he served as a local preacher in the Methodist Church and was a very earnest Christain worker. After his marriage our subject settled in Manteno, Kankakee County, Ill., and engaged in farming on land owned by his father. He was nineteen years old when he united with the Baptist Church. On his arrival in Kankakee County he found that the nearest congregation was at Wilton Center. Accordingly he put his membership in this church. As soon as his ability as a preacher became known he was pressed into service. In August, 1860, he removed to Wilton Center and gave his time entirely to ministerial work. However, times were so hard that his income was not sufficient to maintain his family, so it became necessary for him to engage in other occupations. However, he never lost his interest in church work. Freely he gave his time, his efforts, his influence, that the cause might be strengthened in the community. With the exception of four years in other places, for thirty-one years he gave his time largely to his labor of love in this community. He toiled that others might be blessed; he sowed that others might reap, and while he has never accumulated worldly possessions he has gained a name for Christian work that few ever attain. In 1895, upon the advice of physicians, he gave up mental labor and retired to his farm, where he and his wife are living quietly and happily, blessed by the esteem of hosts of warm friends. They have no children of their own, but reared and carefully educated two adopted daughters, Ruth Jenkins and Bardae Turner. The former is now the wife of Rev. C. R. Betts, pastor of the Englewood Baptist Church in Chicago. The other is the wife of H. N. Dickinson, a merchant, grain and coal dealer at New Lenox, this county. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present Biographical Publishing Company; Chicago 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/dickinso1659nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb