Jesse Newton Dick. The communities which do not have the proportion of intelligent retired farmers, many of whom are capitalists, as residents lack an element that may be one of great importance. The farmer’s life leads to thought and contemplation and a man who through his own toilsome efforts can acquire a competency and retire to enjoy it while yet in middle life must be possessed of excellent judgment, which should be a valuable addition to community life. He should be a man with clearer views concerning many things and more able to give sensible advice and offer practical suggestions in regard to the everyday problems that have to be settled when interests clash, as they do in congested sections contrasted with the larger freedom of country life. In the pleasant town of Philo may be found fine examples of the retired farmer who have become exceedingly useful members of this community, and one who was held in general esteem was Jesse Newton Dick, who was called from this life on the 10th of August, 1917. He lies buried in the Maharry Cemetery near Wingate, Indiana.
Jesse N. Dick was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, December 7, 1857. His parents were Eli H. and Jane P. (Maharry) Dick, the former of whom was born at Baltimore, Maryland, August 15, 1822, and the latter in Indiana, February 10, 1829. They came to Champaign County in 1878 and settled on a farm in Philo Township which Mr. Dick had purchased in 1876. He carried on the usual agricultural industries here during the rest of his active life, and died at Philo January 30, 1897. His widow survived for many years afterward, her death occurring at Philo September 15, 1915. Of their three children, one son and two daughters, all are now deceased. The daughters were Ellen and Emma.
Jesse N. Dick attended the public schools in Indiana and was a student of De Pauw University for two years. In 1878 he accompanied his parents to Champaign County. In 1879 he began his farming operations on the homestead and continued to reside in Philo Township, where he owned 320 acres of fine land. He moved then to the village and in 1910 built his handsome modern residence, one of the finest in the place and a model of comfort and convenience.
Mr. Dick was married April 15, 1879, to Miss Harriet Emily Luse, who was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, and is a daughter of Jacob and Charlotte (Martin) Luse. The father of Mrs. Dick was born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Ohio. They had the following children: Rhoda A., who is deceased; Belinda, who is the wife of J. Bottenburg, a farmer; Amos M., who lives at Waynetown, Indiana; Harriet Emily, who is Mrs. Dick; Albert, who is a resident of Lebanon, Indiana; and Estella, George W. and William, all of whom are deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Dick had two daughters: Pearl, who is the wife of Mark Maddux, of Wingate, Indiana; and Elma Jane, who is the wife of W. H. Hickman, of Paris, Illinois. Mr. Dick was quite prominent in Democratic politics.