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CYRUS H. IRVIN, M. D.
The technical education of the doctor of medicine avails him but little unless he has laid a foundation for it of broad general knowledge and made a careful study of human nature. When he took up the practice of medicine Dr. Cyrus H. Irvin brought to the profession a mental equipment acquired through a number of years spent as an educator, and with this preparation the mysteries of medicine and surgery were quickly mastered, and success was his from the beginning of his professional career. Dr. Irvin was born in Jefferson county, Illinois, October 28, 1878, and is a son of Wilford F. and Julia A. (Hughes) Irvin.

Wilford F. Irvin was born in 1848, in Hamilton county, Illinois, a son of Runion Irvin, who spent his life in agricultural pursuits in Hamilton and Jefferson counties. Like his father, Wilford F. Irvin spent his active years in tilling the soil, and became a successful farmer and a well-known Republican politician. His death occurred in 1891. His wife, who was born in Ohio in 1859, and who now makes her home at Mount Vernon, Illinois, is a daughter of Cyrus S. Hughes, who brought his family from Ohio to Illinois in 1861, and for years was known all over Southern Illinois as a dealer in live stock. He accumulated a comfortable fortune during the years of his operations here, and retired some time prior to his death. In political matters he was an ardent Jacksonian Democrat.

Cyrus H. Irvin received his preparatory education in the common schools of Jefferson county, and in 1899 graduated from Ewing College with a certificate which granted him the privilege to teach school. During the four terms that followed he acted as a teacher in the public schools, in the meantime prosecuting his studies with the ultimate object of entering professional life. In 1906 he was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, St. Louis, and after spending eight months at Dahlgren, Illinois, came to Sesser. A skilled surgeon, he has practically a monopoly on all the surgical work done here, and acts in that capacity for the Sesser Coal Company. He has been an active and interested member of the Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Franklin County Medical Societies and the American Medical Association, and acts as local correspondent for the county organization. His fraternal connection is with the local lodge of Odd Fellows. Dr. Irvin has found time to engage in politics, and he is recognized as the logical leader of the Republican forces in Sesser, where his influence is felt in all matters of importance. The old homestead in Jefferson county, which was operated for so many years by his father, is now owned by him, and in addition he has interested himself in various enterprises of a commercial nature. Any movement promising to be of benefit to his adopted community in any way is sure of his hearty support, and worthy movements of a religious and charitable nature find in him an enthusiastic and liberal co-worker.

On December 19, 1906, Dr. Irvin was married to Miss Mary Gertrude Lionberger, daughter of A. J. Lionberger, a native of Jefferson county, and now a successful farmer and prominent Republican politician of Mount Vernon. One child, Mary Louise, has been born to Dr. Irvin and his wife. Mrs. Irvin is a member of the Missionary Baptist church.