TIMOTHY DIMOCK, M.D.

BIOGRAPHY

AS RECORDED IN:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
TOLLAND AND WINDHAM COUNTIES CONNECTICUT.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES
PUBLISHER: J.H.BEERS & CO., CHICAGO; 1903 P. 830

TIMOTHY DIMOCK, M.D., late of Coventry, Tolland county, where his lifetime of three quarters of a century was passed, closing on April 29, 1874, was a man of prominence and a citizen of great usefulness, not only to his immediate community but out and beyond town limits.

Dr. Dimock was born April 7, 1800, in Coventry, the second youngest child and only son of the eight children of Capt. Daniel Dimock, a respected farmer and a descendant of Elder Thomas Dimmock, an early emigrant to the American Colonies. Elder Thomas was of Dorchester, had, in 1639, a grant of land in Barnstable, and was admitted a freeman of the Colony in the same year. The same Dimmock is an old one in England, variously spelled, probably originally the same as Dymocke, the hereditary champion of England, an office now abolished, who at coronation owed the service of challenge to all competitors for the Crown. In this country the name is written Dymocke, Dimmock, Dimock, etc. This branch of the family usually write the name Dimmock, but many Dimock. It is probably a Welsh or West of England name, and some facts stated by Burke in his genealogy of the family favor the family tradition that Elder Thomas Dimmock’s father was Edward Dimmock.

Elder Thomas Dimmock became the leading man of Barnstable, and in one way or another was connected with all the acts of the first settlers. He was townsman in 1643-44; was deputy to Plymouth in 1640, 1641, 1642, 1643, 1648, 1649 and 1650; was appointed magistrate or judge in 1640, and was reappointed in 1644; was one of the Council of War in 1644, and later a lieutenant in the militia. He was ordained an elder in the Barnstable church, of which society he had been a member from its organization. Before his removal to Barnstable he had married Ann Hammond, and their children were: Timothy, Mehitabel and Shubael. Elder Dimmock died in 1658 or 1659. His widow Ann died probably in or before 1686. From this Elder Dimmock the late Dr. Timothy Dimock, of Coventry, was descended through Ensign Shubael, John, Timothy, Timothy (2), and Capt. Daniel Dimock.

(II) Ensign Shubael Dimock, baptized Sept. 15, 1644, married in April, 1663, Joanna Bursley, daughter of John. He lived to a great age, and sustained the character and reputation of his father. He was much employed in town affairs; was selectman in 1685 and 1686; deputy to the General Court in 1685, 1686 and 1689, and ensign in the militia. About 1693 he removed to Mansfield, Conn., where he was known as Deacon Dimock. His death occurred in Mansfield, Oct. 29, 1732, when he was in the ninety-first year of his age. His wife, Joanna, lived to be eighty-three years of age, dying May 8, 1827 (***see footnote). Their children were: Thomas, born in April, 1664; John, January 1666; Timothy, March, 1668; Shubael, February, 1673; Joseph, September, 1675; Mehetabel, 1677; Benjamin, 1680; Joanna, March, 1682; and Thankful, Nov. 16, 1684.

(III) John Dimock, born in January, 1666, married in November, 1689, Elizabeth Lumbert, and in 1709 removed from Barnstable to Falmouth. Their nine children were as follows: Sarah, Ann, Mary, Theophilus, Timothy, Ebenezer, Thankful, Elizabeth and David.

(IV) Timothy Dimock, born July 16, 1698, in Barnstable, married, Aug. 15, 1723, Ann Bradford, a descendant of Gov. Bradford (record of marriage in Mansfield), and removed to Mansfield, Conn. Their children were: Ann, born May 23, 1724; Timothy, April 8, 1726; John, March 24, 1727-28; Joanna, Aug. 28, 1730; Josiah, March 2, 1732-33; Simeon, Sept. 19, 1735; Sylvanus, June 18, 1738; Oliver, Dec. 31, 1740; and Dan, May 13, 1743.

(V) Timothy Dimock (2), born April 8, 1726, married March 11, 1749-50, Desire Dimock (marriage and births of children of record in Coventry), and lived in the town of Coventry, Conn. The children of this marriage were: Desire, born Feb. 22, 1751; Eunice, Feb. 9, 1753; Anne, Sept. 15, 1754; Lois, May 12, 1756; Sibil, March 18, 1758; Lucy, March 22, 1760; Timothy, Aug. 22, 1762; Daniel, Feb. 20, 1765; Mason, June 22, 1767; Rhoda, Aug. 10, 1770; and Rogger, Aug. 5, 1772. The mother of this family was also a lineal descendant of Elder Thomas Dimock, of Barnstable, the American ancestor of the family, her line being through Ensign Shubael, Capt. Thomas and Thomas Dimock (2).

(VI) Capt. Daniel Dimock, born Feb. 20, 1765, was a farmer of Coventry. He married Nov. 16, 1786, Anna Wright, and their children were: Anna C., born Aug. 18, 1787; Parthena, April 9, 1789; Lucinda, March 18, 1791; Sallie, June 23, 1793; Harty, Dec. 24, 1794; Clara Maria, Sept. 14, 1796; Timothy, Jr., April 7, 1800, and Desiah, March 31, 1802.

(VII) In early life Dr. Timothy Dimock, besides attending the district school, studied the higher English branches and Greek and Latin with Rev. Chauncey Booth, then pastor of the First Congregational Church in Coventry, and afterward continued his studied at Bacon Academy, in Colchester, Conn., until he was fitted to enter Yale College. We next find him a medical student in the office of Dr. Chauncey Burgess, of Coventry, and subsequently for more than a year, a “good student,” as his instructor called him, under the tuition of Professor Jonathan Knight, M.D., of New Haven. He attended two courses of lectures at the Medical Institution of Yale College, where he was graduated in 1823. Later he practiced his profession a few years at Granby, Mass., and in the spring of 1827 he settled in his native town, where he was a very successful practitioner for nearly forty-five years.

“Dr. Dimock was a man of superior mental endowments, which had been well improved by years of study and observation. He stood high as a man of ability and integrity. As a practitioner he was intelligent, judicious and self-reliant, attending faithfully to his own patients, and answering many calls as consulting physician. His field of practice was extensive, and the number of his patients always large. His good judgement, abundant common sense, and large fund of information, made him an able counselor, and, together with his uprightness of character and gentlemanly bearing, secured the confidence of his medical brethren and the community. He took a deep interest in public affairs, and his numerous friends manifested their confidence in him by placing him in several positions of trust, the duties of which he discharged in a manner creditable to himself and constituents. For some years he was surgeon of a regiment of Connecticut militia. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1838, and was a senator for the Twenty-first District in 1846. He was a member of the Connecticut Medical Society, and in 1858 was elected a member of the standing committee for Examination of Degrees.

“The Doctor was endowed with a sound constitution. In person he was tall, symmetrical in form, and prepossessing in appearance. His pleasing address and cordial greeting gladdened many a heart, and whether in the sick room or social gathering, as one of his intelligent neighbors said, ‘Dr. Dimock was a man who carried a great deal of light with him.’

“Dr. Dimock was twice married, first, to Miss Mary Ann Moody, of Granby, Mass., and last to Miss Laura F. Booth, daughter of Rev. Chauncey Booth, a lady of excellent ability and good sense. He was the father, by each marriage, of a son and two daughters. His last wife, died Jan. 15, 1872; none of the daughters survived. The elder son, Daniel W., during the last two years of the Civil war, was a volunteer in the Union service. After the close of the war he studied medicine and is now a practicing physician. The younger son, Henry F., graduated honorably at Yale College in 1863, studied law and was admitted to the Bar, and has since resided in the city of New York, where besides attaining success in his profession, he has acceptably filled important positions of trust and responsibility.

“Dr. Dimock was a Christian. For more than forty years he was a consistent member of the Congregational Church, and one of its most efficient supporters. During the last two years of his life, though confined to his home by increasing infirmities, he was usually cheerful, retaining his public spirit, and often participating in conversation upon matters of general interest. Sustained by the Christian’s faith, he calmly anticipated the time of his departure. The ennobling influence of his example will long continue. He was a Freemason of high degree.”

Reproduced by:

Linda D. Pingel – great-great granddaughter of Cyrus White of Rockville, Ct.

***footnote: printed “1827” but must be 1727.

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