Editing Thomas Story Kirkbride

Thomas Kirkbride was born into a Quaker family in a farmhouse in Morrisville, PA. Both branches of his family were some of the earliest English settlers of the Delaware Valley region, who came to the Americas with William Penn in the late 17th century. His father's parents were of the country of "Kirkbride' in Cumberland County, England. Upon Settling in America they established a plantation in lower Bucks County, which remained family property until it was sold in 1867. His father, John Kirkbride (d.1864), built the house which Thomas lived in as a child on the family estate. His mother, Elizabeth Story, was a resident of Newtown Township.

Thomas Kirkbride was born into a Quaker family in a farmhouse in Morrisville, PA. Both branches of his family were some of the earliest English settlers of the Delaware Valley region, who came to the Americas with William Penn in the late 17th century. His father's parents were of the country of "Kirkbride' in Cumberland County, England. Upon Settling in America they established a plantation in lower Bucks County, which remained family property until it was sold in 1867. His father, John Kirkbride (d.1864), built the house which Thomas lived in as a child on the family estate. His mother, Elizabeth Story, was a resident of Newtown Township.

After attending a local private school in his neighborhood in Morrisville, he attended a classical school in Trenton, NJ, across the river from his home. Afterwards, he spent a year specialized in Mathematics in a school in Burlington, NJ. After this initial preliminary education, he spent a year on his father's farm in Morrisville, which he later related was beneficial for his long-term health. During this time he read a treatise by Dr. Nicholas Belleville, a French surgeon who had come to the United States with Lafayette during the American Revolution, and who was residing in Trenton, NJ. In 1831, Thomas Kirkbride began his medical education under Dr. Belleville, when he was eighteen.<ref name="story">The Art of Asylum-Keeping: Thomas Story Kirkbride and the origins of American Psychiatry by Tomes, Nancy, University of Pennsylvania Press</ref><ref name="hospital">[http://www.uchs.net/HistoricDistricts/kirkbride.html] Kirkbride's Hospital, University City Historical Society, by Richard E. Greenwood</ref> After receiving a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1832, Kirkbride did his residency at [[Friends Hospital]] in Philadelphia. Following which, he was briefly employed at [[Pennsylvania Hospital]] as part of their regular medical staff, from 1833-185. It was originally his intention to become a surgeon, and shortly thereafter he had his own practice in Philadelphia, lasting from 1835 until 1840.<ref name="story"/><ref name="hospital"/>  

After attending a local private school in his neighborhood in Morrisville, he attended a classical school in Trenton, NJ, across the river from his home. Afterwards, he spent a year specialized in Mathematics in a school in Burlington, NJ. After this initial preliminary education, he spent a year on his father's farm in Morrisville, which he later related was beneficial for his long-term health. During this time he read a treatise by Dr. Nicholas Belleville, a French surgeon who had come to the United States with Lafayette during the American Revolution, and who was residing in Trenton, NJ. In 1831, Thomas Kirkbride began his medical education under Dr. Belleville, when he was eighteen.<ref name="story">The Art of Asylum-Keeping: Thomas Story Kirkbride and the origins of American Psychiatry by Tomes, Nancy, University of Pennsylvania Press</ref><ref name="hospital">[http://www.uchs.net/HistoricDistricts/kirkbride.html] Kirkbride's Hospital, University City Historical Society, by Richard E. Greenwood</ref> After receiving a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1832, Kirkbride did his residency at [[Friends Hospital]] in Philadelphia. Following which, he was briefly employed at [[Pennsylvania Hospital]] as part of their regular medical staff, from 1833-185. It was originally his intention to become a surgeon, and shortly thereafter he had his own practice in Philadelphia, lasting from 1835 until 1840.<ref name="story"/><ref name="hospital"/>