Charles W. Dickover, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Charles W. Dickover
CHARLES W. DICKOVER. For three score and six years a resident of Valparaiso, Charles W. Dickover has watched with pleasure and gratification its growth and progress, and as a man of energy, enterprise and ability has been actively identified with the history of this section of Porter county. As a bricklayer and a contractor in mason work he has accumulated a competency and is now living retired from active pursuits. A son of George Dickover, he was born February 17, 1832, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, of German ancestry. His father, Henry Dickover, a native of Germany, emigrated from there to America when young, and at the age of nineteen years enlisted in the Revolutionary army. At the close of the war he located in Pennsylvania, and was thereafter engaged in tilling the soil during his active life.
George Dickover, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a stone mason by trade, and spent his entire life in the Keystone state, dying at the age of seventy-seven years. He married, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Catherine Rhymer, who was of German ancestry. She died at the age of forty-six years, in Pennsylvania, her native state. Eight of their ten children grew to years of maturity. Of these, William Dickover died May 7, 1912, after having passed the ninety-second anniversary of his birth.
The seventh child in succession of birth of the parental household, Charles W. Dickover lived in his native town until after attaining his majority. Coming westward in 1854, while yet a single man, he located in Valparaiso, Indiana, and for four years followed his trade of a brick layer. In 1858 he enlarged his operations, becoming a contractor of mason work, and in that capacity was very successful, filling many contracts of importance. His work has not been confined to town, county or state, but has ramified in many directions. In 1872, shortly after the disastrous fire that burned Chicago, Mr. Dickover went to that city and erected a large business building on the corner of State and South Water streets. He has also filled contracts in LaPorte, Lake and Porter counties, Indiana. In Valparaiso Mr. Dickover built the woolen mill, and nearly all of the old buildings on Main street, and did the mason work on the Court House, the Auditorium, and on East Hall, South Hall, and Commercial Hall. He has also dealt in real estate to a considerable extent, his operations in this industry having been quite successful. A Republican in politics, Mr. Dickover has been active in public matters, serving one or more terms in the city council, and from 1880 until 1884 being sheriff of Porter county. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, in which he has taken the Knights Templar degrees. On January 5, 1858, Mr. Dickover married Mary Willets, a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and to them six children have been born, namely: Charles Howard, of Valparaiso, married Ann Elizabeth Hewitt; Jessie died when three years old; Ford lived but five years; Mark L., of Valparaiso; Maud, who died in infancy; and Daisy, living at home. Mark L. Dickover, the fifth child of his parents, was born in Valparaiso, December 21, 1870. After his graduation from the Valparaiso high school he attended Valparaiso University. He served as assistant postmaster under Colonel Mark L. De Motte for three years, afterwards serving as assistant cashier of the Valparaiso National Bank for thirteen years. Since January 1, 1907, he has been secretary of the State Bank of Valparaiso. Fraternally he is a member and a past , master of Porter Lodge No. 137, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; a member and a past high priest of Valparaiso Chapter, No. 79, Royal Arch Masons; a member and a past commander of Valparaiso Commandery, No. 28, Knights Templar; is a member and a past patron of Valparaiso Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; belongs to Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and to Fort Wayne Consistory, Scottish Rite. Politically he is identified with the Republican party.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 880-881
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook