"REV. JOHN MILLER DICKEY, D.D., for more than fifty years was a most successful man in doing good. Remarkable for the variety of the work accomplished, for the large, comprehensive, and correct views entertained, and for the independence shown in devising and executing plans of usefulness, the purity and benevolence of his motives and the modesty and sincerity of his manner won for him the confidence of all who labored with him, or who knew him. The scene of Dr. Dickey's labors, and where for the most [p. 520] of his life he retained a home (residing a large part of each year in Philadelphia), was the town of Oxford, in Chester County. Here, on Dec. 16, 1806, he was born, the eldest son of Rev. Ebenezer Dickey, D.D. Here his grandfathers for three generations had lived, many of whom had been office-bearers in the church. Here his own father was pastor of the Presbyterian Church for thirty-five years, known as a learned divine, an earnest and eloquent preacher, and a wise and judicious counselor. His mother was the daughter of John Miller, Esq., of Philadelphia, from whose four daughters, all marrying ministers, have spring many men of high standing and acknowledged ability in the learned professions and in business. Another daughter married Rev. William Finney, for fifty years pastor in Churchville, Md.; another, Rev. Dr. Charles G. McClean; another, Rev. Dr. George Junkin, founder of Lafayette College, Pa., and president of Washington College, Va., and Miami University, Ohio. Jane, the oldest daughter, was a woman of remarkable character, in whom we can trace many of the features which distinguished the son. Of her, as a pastor's wife for forty years, her brother-in-law, Rev. William Finney, wrote,—




"‘She possessed a strength of nerve and a spirit of enterprise that carried her beyond the narrow circle of home. She hesitated not over what she believed to be her duty, but efficiently and at every hazard performed it. Her whole soul was thrown into all her undertakings. She was qualified to lead rather than to be led, to govern rather than to obey, and while manifesting in various forms the humble spirit of a Christian, she possessed in an eminent degree all the essential elements of a mind and heart of the highest order. She was a friend to all, especially to those in need.'




"….Besides the oldest son, there were born to these parents three daughters and two sons…"




—From John Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches, Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881, pp. 519–520.

Information provided by Sheron Smith-Savage