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Oliver B. Dodd, M.D.

Frank Dodd, M.D.

Photos

Among the old and well known medical men of Fayette county is Dr. Oliver B. Dodd, of Waucoma, whose long life of unselfish devotion to the interests of suffering humanity has made his name a household word in the town and adjacent country and won for him a warm and permanent place, not only in the hearts of his many patients but also in the esteem and confidence of the public. Doctor Dodd is a native of Knox county, Ohio, where his birth occurred February 8, 1839, being a son of Stephen and Phoebe Dodd, both parents born in the state of New Jersey.

In his early life the subject attended the public schools until finishing the usual course of study, after which he acquired a knowledge of the higher branches in a seminary at Mt. Carroll, Illinois. With a well defined purpose to make his life useful to his fellowmen, he took up the study of medicine and in due time entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, which he attended during the winter of 1865-6 and later pursued his researches and investigations in the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1871. On receiving his degree, the Doctor located a Waucoma, Iowa, where he has since practiced with gratifying success, being at this time one of the oldest physicians and surgeons in Fayette county, as well as one of the most trusted and beloved men of his calling in this part of the state.

From the beginning of his career to the present time Doctor Dodd has aimed to familiarize himself with his profession and keep in close touch with the latest discoveries and improvements in the same, to the end that he might become a true healer and render suffering humanity the greatest possible service. As already stated, his long period of residence in his field of practice has enabled him to study to advantage and treat with marked success the ills peculiar to the locality, and the universal praise accorded him bears testimony to his eminent standing as a physician and the confidence reposed in him as a worthy and high-minded citizen.

Doctor Dodd has always been averse to publicity, there being few eddies or cascades in the current of his years. He chose the noiseless ways and paths of the world rather than the clamor and din that induce unrest, and his proverbial modesty has ever forbade his coveting the glare of preferment or conspicuous situations. Although unacquainted with the arts of personal advancement and lacking emphatically in self-assertion, he has not only adorned his profession and gained a reputation achieved by few, but every station to which called he has honored and his relations with his fellow men have been characterized by those lofty purposes and high ideals which mark him a benefactor of the race.

In addition to his professional experience Doctor Dodd has an honorable military record, having served in Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Infantry, during the late rebellion and seen much active duty in Mississippi and other states where his command was actively engaged until the expiration of his period of enlistment on the 29th of October, 1864. Returning to Illinois at that time, he applied himself to the study of medicine and the following year came to Waucoma, Iowa, where, on April 22, 1865, he was united in marriage with Mary J. Burnside, daughter of George and Olive M. Burnside, of Fayette county, the union resulting in the birth of three children, Frank B., Theron E. and Florence O.

Frank B. Dodd, the oldest of the family, was graduated from the State University, after which he read medicine in his father’s office and later finished his professional studies in the medical department of the University, standing among the highest in his class at the time of graduation. On leaving the above institution he returned to Waucoma and engaged in the practice with his father, which partnership lasted until his untimely death on the 15th day of November, 1907. Dr. Frank B. Dodd was a young man of fine mind and exceptional abilities in his profession. He served two years as coroner of Fayette county, and was on the high road to eminence as a physician and surgeon when death put an end to what promised to be an unusually brilliant and distinguished career.

In political faith Doctor Dodd is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, but in no sense can he be termed a politician. Notwithstanding his aversion to publicity, however, he was induced some years ago to accept the nomination for county coroner, to which office he was duly elected and the duties of which he discharged with the same ability and conscientious fidelity which characterize his regular professional services. He was health officer of Waucoma one term, also served as mayor of the town and at one time was a member of the county board of supervisors, in all of which positions he labored diligently for the public good and made his official duties paramount to every other consideration.

Doctor Dodd is a member of the Masonic brotherhood, in which he has attained the degree of Knight Templar, being an influential worker in the blue lodge and commandery at Waucoma and enjoying in marked degree the esteem of his brethren in his own town and elsewhere. In matters religious he is liberal in all the term implies, holding membership with no church, but according to all the same right of opinion which he claims for himself. Respected by his neighbors and fellow citizens and honored by the public, his life has been a blessing to the county in which he resides.

~transcribed for the Fayette County, IAGenWeb Project by Mary Aldrich