William W. Dilks.  – William W. Dilks, the memory of whose honorable and upright life is enshrined in the hearts of his 
many friends in Wayne county, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 25, 1842.  In that city, aptly termed the 
“City of Brotherly Love,” by reason of the noble, peaceable and kindly lives of the Friends, resided his parents, George
 and Hanna (Richie) Dilks.  His father was born in Gloucester, New Jersey, in 1804, and was married May 30, 1837, to 
Miss Richie.  Throughout the greater part of his business career he was a representative of the commercial interests of 
Philadelphia, where he carried on a wholesale and retail lumber business.  He also engaged in contracting and building 
and found both branches of business very profitable, owing to the extensive patronage which he secured.  He displayed 
great energy, enterprise and sound judgment in all his trade transactions, was reliable and trustworthy, and by his 
well directed efforts gained a most comfortable competence.  Of the Society of Friends he was a most prominent member, 
and therein filled a number of offices.  He died in Philadelphia, February 16, 1855, and his wife surviving him many 
years, passed away in Richmond, July 5, 1888, at the age of sixty-four years.

William W. Dilks spent the first eighteen years of his life in the city of his nativity, and acquired his education 
in the Westtown Boarding School, at Westtown, Pennsylvania.  He possessed an observing eye and retentive memory, and 
therefore largely added to his fund of practical business knowledge as the years went by.  In his youth he was 
employed in the leather store owned by his uncle, Edward Richie, in Philadelphia, and in 1861 he came to Richmond.  
His father died when William Dilks was only twelve years of age, after which he resided for one year with his uncle, 
Samuel Richie, near New Paris, Ohio.  The mother and the other members of the family of six children then went to the 
Buckeye state, and resided near New Paris for a time, after which they came to Indiana, subsequently to the removal of 
our subject to Wayne county.  In 1868 he located on a farm a mile and a half south of Richmond, on Green Mount pike, 
there making his home for thirty years.  He was the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land, and to its 
cultivation and improvement devoted his energies.  He also engaged quite extensively in stock-raising and in the 
dairy business, and prosecuted his labors with diligence, his careful management and untiring industry bringing him a 
very desirable measure of success.  Ill health largely interfered with his business duties during the last ten years
 of his life, and for three years prior to his death he was an invalid.  All of his trade transactions were conducted 
most honorably, and his reputation in business circles was unassailable.  He was a man of superior judgment, and his 
discretion made his counsel sought by many business associates.

Mr. Dilks was twice married.  On the 30th of December, 1863, he wedded Anna Shoemaker, of Philadelphia, and to them 
were born two children: Charles W., the elder, is a traveling salesman for a lumber firm, and resides in Fort Wayne, 
Indiana.  He married Clara Kearnes, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and they have two children, Harold and Mildred.  William W., 
the younger son, is conducting the old home farm near Richmond.  The mother, who was born May 29, 1840, died January 
22, 1880, and Mr. Dilks was again married, November 3, 1881, Sarah Scearce becoming his wife.  She is a daughter of 
Jonathan and Dorcas (Edwards) Scearce, both of whom are natives of Wayne township, Wayne county, and are farming 
people.

In his political affiliations Mr. Dilks was a Republican, being an influential and leading member of the party in this 
community.  He served as delegate to various conventions and on a number of political committees, and did all in his 
power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party.  He was quite prominent in the Friends meeting and was 
an elder and overseer of the Whitewater monthly meeting for a number of years.  He was an earnest Christian gentleman, 
plain and unostentatious in manner, but thoroughly reliable and straightforward.  The purity of his life and the 
nobility of his character won him the esteem of all, and many friends mourned his death, which occurred September 3, 
1898.  His wife and
his son William still reside on the farm, which has been in the possession of the family for thirty-one years.  The 
son is a progressive and practical agriculturist, and the neatness and thriftiness of the place indicate his careful 
supervision.  Mrs. Dilks is a most estimable lady and, like her husband, shares in the regard of many friends in Wayne 
county.

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago.  
The Lewis Publishing Company.  1899.
Pages 999 to 1001.