Moore Wellington Dimick was born 4 September 1818 in New York State. At age twelve, he moved with his family to St. Joseph County, Michigan, where he grew up. On 10 March 1842, Moore married Parthenia Fenn May. She had been born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts on 18 January 1822 and raised in Monroe, Michigan. Moore and Parthenia moved to Iroquois County, Illinois, in 1869.
They had five children, two of whom died as infants The other three were Elisha Newton, Franklin L., and Marion E. The three Dimick siblings married three Geer siblings. Elisha married Ella Geer, Franklin married Anna Geer, and Marion married Albert Geer. (See E.N. Dimick, F.L. Dimick and Albert Geer stories.)
The Dimicks and the Geers left Illinois for Florida, seeking a warmer climate, and stayed for a while in Jacksonville. They separated into two groups and headed farther south for Lake Worth, the first group going by ocean and Moore and his group going the inland route. They arrived on the lake in October of 1876, just before a hurricane struck No lives were lost but their possessions were scattered over a wide area.
Moore and Parthenia acquired land on what was to become Palm Beach, and settled down. For the 1885 census, Moore gave his occupation as farmer. Like the other pioneers, they bought and sold land, mostly to their family members. In January of 1887, they sold 20 acres for $2,500 to Charles I. Cragin of Philadelphia, who turned it into the popular “Garden of Eden.” (See C.I. Cragin story.) Early in 1888, Moore sold 8 acres to Robert W. McCormick for $900.
On 27 October 1888, Moore died of tuberculosis. The newspaper obituary reported that he was buried on his son E.N. Dimick’s estate in Palm Beach. Parthenia lived with her son until her death on 16 June 1914. Her obituary stated that she was buried by the side of her husband in the family burial plot in Florence, Michigan.
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