BIOGRAPHY: William D. Dickey; Newburgh, Orange co., New York

transcribed by W. David Samuelsen for USGenWeb Archives

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Portrait and Biographical Record of Rockland and Orange Counties New York
Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative
Citizens of the Counties.
Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presidents of the United
States.
New York and Chicago; Chapman Publishing Co., 1895

COL. WILLIAM D. DICKEY. There are few professions that require the amount of
diligent study and general information which are essential to a knowledge of
law. In order to master legal terms understandingly one must have a good
education, and, in addition to this, must have great concentration of thought.
Among the gentlemen who realize the full importance of the profession, and who
add dignity to it, no one stands higher than does Colonel Dickey, of Newburgh.
While he has attained success at the Bar, his energies have by no means been
limited to the profession, but in many other ways he has gained eminence and
distinction among the residents of the Hudson Valley.

Briefly, before giving the biographical sketch of Colonel Dickey, let us
glance at his ancestral history. The family is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and
the parents of our subject, William and Esther (James) Dickey, were born in
Belfast, in the North of Ireland, whence they emigrated in early life to
America. The father, who learned the mason's trade in Newburgh, was engaged as
a contractor and builder here for many years, but is now living retired. He
erected many of the important buildings of the city, including churches and
schools. His wife, who was a Presbyterian in religious belief, and a lady of
noble character, died in 1863. They were the parents of six sons and three
daughters, all of whom but two daughters are still living. One of the
brothers, Joseph M., was Captain in the regiment commanded by our subject, and
later served as Representative in the New York Assembly; he is now one of the
most extensive real-estate dealers of Newburgh, and a very prominent citizen
of the place.

Born in, Newburgh, January 11, 1845, the subject of this notice received a
good education, graduating from Newburgh Academy and Mt. Retirement Seminary,
Deckertown, N. J. In 1861 he began the study of law in the office of Scott &
Drake, but his private interests soon gave way to matters of deeper
importance. The war broke out, and every patriotic citizen was called upon to
aid in the defense of the Union. Not-withstanding his youth, he was determined
to enlist, and in May, 1862, joined the Nineteenth Regiment of Newburgh, in
which he served, first as a private and afterward as Sergeant, for three
months. Returning home, he was commissioned a week later as Second Lieutenant
in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth New York Infantry, and in a short time was
promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant, later receiving the commission of
Captain in the Fifteenth New York Artillery, Battery M. May 11, 1865, he was
promoted to be Major, and in recognition of his gallant services and
distinguished valor the President conferred upon him the brevets of
Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel. At the battle of the Weldon Railroad he was
for a time in command of the brigade, all of his superior officers having been
either killed or wounded. Aside from many skirmishes, he participated in
twenty general engagements, among which were the battles of the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor. He was also in all of the engagements before
Petersburg, and in all of those up to and including Lee's surrender. The
distinction that he won for gallantry on many a hard-fought battlefield is
especially commendable, when the fact is taken into consideration that he was
only seventeen at the time of enlistment, and less than twenty when he was
breveted Colonel.

Within a week after his return to New York, Colonel Dickey entered the Albany
Law School, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1866, and at once
opened an office for the practice of his profession in his native city, where
he has since resided. As an attorney, his counsels are sought by many of the
leading. men of this section of the state. His success in private and public
undertakings, and his knowledge of points involving abstract legal principles,
are marvelous. It is said of him that he has an extraordinary power of
analysis and generalization, and a keen insight into the technicalities of the
law. His skill in the management of cases submitted to him has won for him an
enviable reputation, which is not limited to Newburgh, nor indeed to Orange
County.

June 17, 1868, our subject was elected Colonel of the Nineteenth Regiment of
the State Militia, and filled the position until the disbanding of the
regiment in 1876. He was a member of the Committee on Military, having in
charge the arrangements for the military divisions in the great procession at
the Newburgh Centennial in 1883, and was Marshal of the Second Division. In
1872, 1878 and 1879 he was Corporation Counsel. Socially he is identified with
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and is a member of Hudson River Lodge,
P. & A. M., and Highland Chapter, R. A. M. Soon after the formation of the
first post in the United States, he was mustered in at Indianapolis, Ind., as
a member of the Grand Army, in which he has since been an influential member.

The connection of Colonel Dickey with public affairs has been of such a nature
as to reflect the greatest credit upon himself. In 1893 he was elected
delegate to the Constitutional Convention of New York from the Sixteenth
Senatorial District, on the Republican ticket, and was one of the most active
workers in that body, being in constant attendance for the entire time of the
convention, nearly five months. He delivered some of the ablest speeches of
the convention, and the plans and suggestions he brought forward were pointed,
forcible and discriminating. As a mem-ber of the Committee on Corporations and
Legislative Apportionments, he rendered valuable service. He introduced the
amendments to abolish the offices of Coroner and Justice of Sessions, both of
which were adopted. He also introduced, and was active in securing the
adoption of, the amendment permitting Judges who have reached the age of
seventy years to be assigned to duty by the Governor, if they are qualified.
The measure to do away with the $5,000 limit of recovery in damages in death
cases was fostered by him, and he delivered the principal speech in the case.
He was active in securing the anti-gambling amendment, and voted in favor of
submitting the woman-suffrage question to the people of New York.

No resident of Newburgh has been more active in building up local enterprises
than has Colonel Dickey. He was a promoter of the Newburgh Electric Street
Railway Company, and the New-burgh & Orange Lake Electric Street Railway
Company, in both of which he was formerly Di-rector, and is still attorney and
counselor. In the Walden & Orange Lake Electric Railway Company he is serving
as Director. With his brother, Capt. J. M. Dickey, he laid out forty acres
known as Washington Heights, being the west half of the same, and now one of
the best residence portions of the city. Here, on the corner of Bay View
Terrace and Overlook Place, stands his home, a modern and substantial frame
structure, the beauty of which is enhanced by the low-arching piazzas and the
well kept lawn.

The organization of the Newburgh Fire Department Association is largely due to
Colonel Dickey, who is now its President. It was organized December 8, 1893,
with the following officers: President, Colonel Dickey, of the Washing-ton
Heights Hose Company; Vice-President, William H. Hallock, of the Highland
Steamer Company; Secretary, John F. Tucker, of the Lawson Hose Company; and
Treasurer, Lewis M. Smith, of the Washington Steamer Company. October 17-18,
1894, the association held a parade and tournament, at which prizes to the
value of $600 were given. The affair was one of the most brilliant firemanic
displays the county has ever seen, and the association had every reason to be
proud of its success.

Another local enterprise with which the name of Colonel Dickey is inseparably
associated is the Palatine Hotel, the finest in the county, and one of the
most elegant on the Hudson River. The enterprise originated in an unexpected
manner. The Board of Trade of this city, at its meeting March 10, 1892, was
discussing the question of holding a grand banquet, at which all the members
and their friends should meet around the festive board. Some one presented the
objection that there was no suitable place where such a meeting could be held.
"Let us build a hotel, then," said Colonel Dickey. "Let it be a structure that
will accommodate the largest gathering Newburgh can possibly have for a
quarter of a century, at least; a building that shall be an ornament to the
city; a hotel conducted in first-class style, that will compare favorably with
anything in the state. " The idea struck a popular chord. "What will you give,
Colonel, toward such a hotel?" some one inquired. "One thousand dollars," was
the prompt reply, received with loud and continued applause. The Colonel was
made chairman of the first soliciting committee, and was one of the
incorporators of the Palatine Hotel Company, which purchased a suitable site
at the corner of Grand and Third Streets, and erected thereon a magnificent
hotel, costing $125,000. From time to time he advanced additional money, and
is now the largest stock-holder in the hotel.

The marriage of Colonel Dickey in June, 1868,united him with Kate W., daughter
of Theodore Richmond, of Newburgh. Their only son, Frank R., a talented young
man, is a graduate of the Newburgh Academy, and completed the course of the
Albany Law School in December, 1894, when twenty years of age; he will
practice in partnership with his father. The three daughters, Annie L., Kate
G. and Henrietta E., are accomplished young ladies, upon whom every advantage
has been bestowed, and who are popular in the best society of Newburgh.