My Genealogy Hound

Dr. J. R. Dale. The profession of the physician, when properly conducted, is one of the noblest to which a man can devote his life, and it is one which operates effectively in time of need in arresting and alleviating the most acute pains and ailments to which the human body is heir. To say that Dr. Dale has made a proper use of the powers given him would be a very mild statement of the case, for to his skill and talent the gratitude of hundreds is due. He was born in Pontotoc County, Miss., August 20, 1840, to Robert and Jane (Boyd) Dale, natives of Chester, S. C, who emigrated to Mississippi in 1849, in which State they both passed from life. They were the parents of five children, and of this family the subject of this sketch was the fourth and youngest boy, Mrs. Alice Jane Stewart being the youngest and only sister. He was left an orphan in his infancy, but was taken to rear by his grandmother, and until fifteen years of age was a resident of Mississippi. During the late internecine war the grandmother died, leaving the Doctor without friends or money, and owing to this and the fact that his early educational advantages were very meager, he found himself very poorly equipped to fight the battle of life alone. He was, however, very ambitious and independent, and in 1866 started for Arkansas, but on reaching Pine Bluff his money gave out and as his destination was Arkadelphia, he went the rest of his way on foot, a distance of eighty miles, making the journey in two days and a half. He reached this place footsore, hungry and penniless, but immediately set about to find employment, and became an apprentice in the drug establishment of Rowland & McDaniel, and remained with these parties for about six years. After obtaining some means he employed a private teacher, and for some time pursued his studies after night, and, in the meantime, entered upon the study of medicine with a view to making it a profession. In 1870 he was enabled to enter the Medical University of Louisville, Ky., and later graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1872, soon after locating at Arkadelphia, Ark., being then considered only a young physician of ordinary merit. This, however, did not long remain the case, for he was very successful in the management of the cases which came under his care, and he soon became well known as a physician of talent and ability, and is now one of the eminent practitioners of the State, enjoying one of the largest, if not the largest, practices in Arkansas. He has effected some wonderful cures, and his skill is consulted by people hundreds of miles distant. He has ever been very liberal with the poor, is always found ready to relieve the afflicted, and he is a man who commands the love and confidence of all who know him. His present position has not been attained without severe and continued labor, and from a poor, struggling boy, without money or friends, he now has a beautiful home, family, friends, money and position, and is now vice-president of the Citizens Bank of Arkadelphia, of which he was also one of the organizers. He assisted in organizing the Arkadelphia Lumber Company, and is a stockholder in the Arkadelphia, Ultima Thule & Mississippi Railroad, and, in fact, is identified with almost every enterprise of worth in the town, and his money is freely spent in building up and improving the city. In 1881 he was united in marriage to Miss May Beauchamp, of Arkadelphia, and they have an interesting family of four children: Christine, Rodney, Richard and Lois. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and socially he belongs to the Masonic and K. of P. fraternities. In 1873, during the cholera epidemic in Little Rock, he went to that city and during his stay there he laid the foundation for his present enviable reputation, and received from the Government a printed certificate of commendation. He was at this time physician for the county poor of Pulaski County. During the yellow fever epidemic at Memphis, Tenn., in 1878, he volunteered his services to the plague-stricken city and was awarded a gold medal by the Howard Association (of which he was a member), for the valuable services rendered. At this time he was also secretary of the Howard Medical Society. He now belongs to the Arkansas State Medical Society, the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Society and the American Medical Association. During the Brooks-Baxter trouble, the Doctor became surgeon of the Hallie Rifles, a company composed of the young men of Little Rock, and received a flesh wound by a gun-shot in the fight at Palarm. He espoused the Baxter cause. The above sketch shows what can be accomplished by a poor boy when he possesses that mysterious article called pluck, and we are free to say that the Doctor is not yet through making a history for himself, but will one day stand pre-eminent among his medical brethren.