Solomon Dill was born May 14, 1825 in Muskingum County, Ohio. On August 10, 1854, Solomon married Elizabeth Jane Fowler in Butler County, Ohio. Solomon Dill died in Fredonia, Louisa County, Iowa on March 1, 1883.
Dr. Solomon Dill was born on May 14, 1825 in Muskingum County, Ohio to Solomon Dill and Mary Turner, conjectured to be the 7th of 11 children. He was raised in Muskingum County, Ohio and at some point prior to his marriage, studied to become a doctor. It is not known whether Solomon attended a medical school, or whether he trained under a doctor to learn his profession. While there is a Solomon Dill who graduated in 1853 from The Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, this Solomon Dill listed Indiana as his home. Likely this person is different Solomon Dill who practiced medicine in Indiana around the same time as the subject of this sketch practiced medicine in Iowa.
On August 10, 1854, Solomon married Elizabeth Jane Fowler, daughter of Felix Fowler and Susan Pitman, in Butler County, Ohio. Solomon and Elizabeth had two known daughters:
- Mary Augusta Dill
- Laura Susan Dill
Mary, their first daughter, was born in Oxford, Ohio in 1855. The following year Solomon's family moved to Iowa, joining his father-in-law's family, and Elizabeth's sister's family, who had moved to Iowa the year before. The Dills located in Toddtown in Louisa County where Dr. Dill began his practice. About three years later, Solomon and his family relocated to nearby Fredonia where daughter Laura was born.
According to a biographical sketch about Dr. Solomon Dill “after establishing himself at Fredonia, Dr. Dill's practice was greatly increased, extending for miles over the country in every direction. Being a strong man, possessed of the best impulses, having the welfare of suffering humanity at heart, he responded to every call, whether coming from rich or poor, in storm or sunshine, at night or day. He was an uncompromising foe to everything false and dishonest. He was a devoted husband, an indulgent father; to his friends, true, warm and constant, and to the poor especially, he extended his fullest indulgence. In all his practice he never distressed any one to collect that which was justly his due.”
In June 1869, Solomon's wife Elizabeth died leaving two daughters, Mary, age 14 and Laura, age 11. Solomon remarried in 1871, Mary Ann Mickey Koontz, and became step-father to Arthur, Edna and Henry Koontz, Mary Ann's children by her first marriage. Solomon and Mary Ann had two known daughters:
- Bessie Alice Dill
- Georgiana Dill
In 1873, Solomon was admitted into the Louisa County Medical Society, one of the pioneering medical societies in the country.
In 1876, Solomon's daughter Mary married John Thomas Conlin. By December, Solomon's first grandson was born, James Solomon Conlin, a boy named after his maternal and paternal grandfathers. A few years later in 1879, daughter Laura married Alexander Garrett. Four more grandchildren would be born before Solomon's death, Laura Conlin, named after Solomon's daughter Laura, and Jacob Bertram Garrett, Elizabeth Jane Garrett, named after Solomon's first wife, and Augusta May Garrett, named after Solomon's daughter Mary Augusta.
The biographical sketch continues “Tireless in industry, undergoing the ravages which this climate inflicts by constant exposure, he [Solomon] was stricken with paralysis. He then had to give up his night practice almost entirely, but continued faithful to those patients whom he could visit in the daytime, until November, 1882, when his steadily failing health compelled him to give that up also. Day by day he grew weaker, life slowly ebbing away, and for the last six weeks of his life was confined to his room. All that human agency could devise was done to alleviate his great suffering, and with the hope of his restoration to health, but all without avail, and on the 1st of March, 1873, his eyes were closed in the last long sleep.”
Dr. Solomon Dill died on March 1, 1873 in Freedonia, Iowa, at the age of 57. He was buried next to his first wife Elizabeth in Fredonia Cemetery.
Genealogical Research and Life Sketch completed: 24 July 2020
Sources:
"Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958", database, FamilySearch, Solomon Dill, 1854.
"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySeach, Solomon Dill, 1860.
"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch, Sol Dell, 1870.
"Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch, ... S. Dill and Mary Koontz, 29 Jun 1871, Louisa, Iowa, United States; citing reference p 236, county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,006,646.
"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch, S. Dill, Fredonia, Louisa, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
"Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992," database, FamilySearch, Solomen Dill, 01 Mar 1883; citing Death, Fredonia, Louisa, Iowa, United States, page 26, offices of county clerk from various counties; FHL microfilm 1,006,654.
“Portrait and Biographical Album of Louisa County, Iowa”, Acme Publishing Company, 1889. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
“History of Louisa County, Iowa, from Its Earliest Settlement to 1912,”, Vol 1, Arthur Springer. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. 1912. Web. Retrieved from Google Books.
