Dr. J.R. Dale. The profession of 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 this case. for to his
skill and talent the gratitude of hundreds is due. He was born in
Pontotoc County, Miss., August 20, 1849, to Robert and Jane (Boyd) Dale,
natives of Chester, S.C., who emigrated to Mississippi in 1849, in which
State they both passed form life. They were the parents of five
children, and of this family the subject of this sketch is the forth 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 meager he found himself
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 the 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 and 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 one 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 whom 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
Paralm. He espoused the Baxter cause. The above sketch shows what can
be accomplished by a poor boy when he possesses that mysterious article
called plunk, 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.
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