Carrie Peterson Dick, 1859-1943

Carrie Peterson Dick was a woman more comfortable in the background but her involvement in Akron's arts and welfare communities belied that tendency.

In history books when Carrie Peterson Dick is mentioned at all, she is identified with her husband, Congressman and "president maker" Charles Dick of Akron. But when her husband was off studying law or fighting in the Spanish-American War or serving in both houses of Congress or making a president (McKinley), Dick had her own life building and strengthening many of the cultural and welfare institutions and organizations in the city of Akron.

A charter member of the Fifty Year Club, Dick also helped start the Art and History Club. She was also one of the founding members of the Akron Art Institute and the first woman member of its board. Because of her position in the community, she was also invited to serve on the boards of the Sumner Home for the Aged and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Both Dicks were members of Trinity Lutheran Church.

That type of community involvement seemed inconsistent with the Beacon Journal's characterization of Dick as a "quiet little woman, she has preferred to remain in the background."

Carrie Peterson married her high school sweetheart in 1881. They had met at Central High School. The couple had five children. The Dicks are buried in Glendale Cemetery.

Photo Courtesy of the Beacon Journal.

--Kathleen L. Endres