Kirby

1842 DECEMBER 8, John Kirby is born in County Limerick, Ireland. 1873 JANUARY 21, John Kirby marries Mary E. Marquiss, the granddaughter of the founder of Monticello, IL. The couple have two children, but one dies in infancy. 1919 OCTOBER 10, John Kirby dies in Monticello. His Will states that the City of Monticello will receive the Kirby mansion and $100,000 upon the death of his wife, Mary. The money and residence are to be used to establish the John and Mary E. Kirby Hospital. 1938 DECEMBER 7, Mary Kirby dies. 1939 SEPTEMBER 22, Nell M. England (daughter of John and Mary Kirby), W.H. England, Maxwell R. Hott, Bela M. Stoddard and Herbert Mohler are appointed directors for the hospital. 1941 JANUARY 20, The first patient is admitted to the John and Mary E. Kirby Hospital. Medical staff includes 15 doctors, four registered nurses and eight employees in the service departments. Find out more about the hospital opening and the year 1941 below. 1899 John and Mary Kirby and their daughter, Nell, retire from agricultural labors and move to Monticello, where they reside in a stately family mansion. 1850 After the death of his mother, John Kirby, along with his father and two brothers, moves to Springfield, OH. 1856 The McCoys move to Illinois to settle near Decatur, and John Kirby joins them. 1861-1866 John Kirby enlists in Company F of the 2nd Illinois Cavalry Regiment at the beginning of the Civil War. He serves with Grant at the Siege of Vicksburg and in Louisiana before being discharged at the end of the war. Welcome to 1941... Thousands crowded the halls to tour the new John and Mary E. Kirby Hospital when it officially opened its doors in January 1941 with a staff of 15 doctors, four nurses and eight service employees. There were undoubtedly many "oohs" and "aahs" as Piatt County residents viewed the luxurious and modern amenities, including tilting mattresses, six fireplaces, decorative carvings and rooms filled with Chippendale furniture. The landscaped grounds featured a courtyard and fish pool surrounded by pathways for roaming patients, employees and guests. Kirby offered the latest medical technology and highest standards of care with stainless-steel operating equipment, repositionable operating tables, one of only two electric dishwashers in the community and an array of electric lights (bed lights, door lights, hall lights, infra-red rays and even floor lights). T IM EL IN E 4

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