Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Dickey, Joseph C. 1838 - 1903 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com July 23, 2005, 5:01 pm Author: B. F. Bowen JOSEPH C. DICKEY. Joseph C. Dickey, who was born at Catawba, Ohio, in 1838, was for many years before his death, on April 20, 1903, one of the prominent and highly respected residents of Marshall county. He grew to manhood in Ohio, and there received his education in the public schools. As a lad he learned the trade of a blacksmith, and before the Civil War he came to Indiana, where he worked at his trade for a number of years. After Ft. Sumter had been fired upon, and President Lincoln had called for volunteers, Mr. Dickey was one of the first to offer his services in the defense of the Union. He enlisted in an Indiana regiment for one hundred days service, and while crossing the Potomac river he was made a prisoner, but was later released. At the end of his first enlistment he returned home, but in 1863 he re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and saw much active campaigning. Owing to illness he was obliged to return to his home, one month before his regiment returned. He was at the battles of Antietam and Chickamauga, as well as many other engagements. For bravery and efficient service he was made lieutenant of his company, and later, captain. While home on a furlough, Joseph C. Dickey was united in marriage to Mary Stewart, who was born at Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, on November 12, 1842. She was the daughter of Louis M. and Hannah Stewart, both of whom were natives of Ohio. They were a highly respected and a most patriotic people, and two of their sons were also in the service, Robert J., who died at Sweetwater, Tennessee, and Theodore. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Dickey established their home at South Whitley, Indiana, where Mr. Dickey worked at his trade. He operated his blacksmith shop at that place until 1869, when he and his family came to Kansas, where they located at Waterville, Marshall county, when the town was just starting. He established and operated the first shop in the town, and from the beginning had more work than he could do. The freighters of those days required the services of a blacksmith and to Mr. Dickey much of their work was brought. His first shop was but a small shanty, but in the early seventies he built a stone structure, which he later enlarged to accommodate his many patrons. He was a first-class workman and honest, and he soon had an extensive business, becoming well known throughout the district. Joseph C. Dickey was a man who took great interest in local affairs and had much to do with the civic life of his home town as well as the county. He was a strong advocate of substantial public improvements, and was especially interested in good roads and good schools. For a number of years he served as a member of the board of county commissioners, and from 1884 to 1888 was the postmaster of Waterville. He homesteaded eighty acres and purchased eighty acres, shortly after coming to the state. His farm was increased until he became the owner of a splendid tract of two hundred acres east of Waterville, which Mrs. Dickey sold in 1914 for twelve thousand dollars. During the last years of his life he looked after his property interests, having retired from his work as a blacksmith. He was a useful citizen, and his ability was recognized by the people of his home town, who elected him to many local offices. He was long a member of the Grand Army of the Republican, and was made a Mason at a called meeting, before he entered the service as a soldier. The latter order was always to him the greatest of fraternal bodies. To them he always felt that he owed his life, for while a prisoner of war, his condition was such that he developed scurvy, and was about to die from starvation, when he gave the sign of distress and help came to him at once. To James C. and Mary Dickey were born three children, William Louis, Ray and Daisy. William Louis was born on September 30, 1866, and grew to manhood and was educated in Marshall county. His death occurred on March 9, 1897, the result of a surgical operation; Ray, who was born on September 23, 1869, is the .electrician for the light plant at Blue Rapids. He is married to Hallie Thompson and they are the parents of two children, Donald, in a bank at Topeka, and Creta, at home. Daisy was born on February 3, 1876, and is now the wife of Frank Keefover; they reside at Tacoma, Washington. Before coming to Waterville, Mr. Dickey was a member of the Lutheran church, and for many years after locating in Marshall county, he attended the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife was an active member. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey were always active and prominent in the social and the religious life of the community in which they lived and where they were held in the hghest regard. To them has been due much of the credit for the high moral and social standing of the little city of Waterville. Mrs. Dickey takes much interest in her church work, and has long been active in the Woman's Relief Corps and the Order of the Eastern Star and is also a member of the Rebekah lodge and of a fraternal insurance society. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/dickey83bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb