Published January 24, 2026
By Arlis Dittmer
To continue the Blessing story, the hospital archives has a ledger from October 1875 to April of 1876 which contains brief notes on 144 hospital visits. These notes show that many people had no defined idea of hospitals or hospital care. They would come to the matron asking for money, food, transportation chits, or a place to stay. Her notes were very frank and often judgmental.
“October 22, 1875, V.G.R. came here from Olena, Henderson County. Goes about on crutches, draws a pension … spends his time in saloons. Evidently a dead beat. Says he wants money to go home.”
“December 27, 1875, W. A. … has been sick 3 months …has wife only at home …had better be sent to hospital [but he doesn’t] want to go to hospital … Mrs. A says she only wants a little sugar and coffee.”
“April 3, 1876, J.P., a young man … says he came here from Mississippi on Saturday last … yesterday he went on board a steamer to go to Keokuk … was drunk and had some difficulty with the mate of the boat who struck him with a handspike, giving him a severe wound in the head and hurting his side … he has no means …sent him to Blessing Hospital.”
Though the hospital was fulfilling a community need, these comments show it was not easy to be admitted. The doctor or the matron would make the judgement call about patients being suitable or not. By 1878, this responsibility was turned over to a group of prominent Quincy women who became known as the Board of Lady Managers.
This group was formed because the Board of Trustees, all being civic leaders and men of business, needed more help with the running of the hospital. They sent letters to 31 women inviting them to form a group named the Executive Committee of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association. At their first meeting on February 28, 1878, in Sarah Denman’s home, 17 ladies were present. At their second meeting, they elected officers with Sarah Denman as president. Five ladies were named as the Board of Lady Managers who would meet weekly at the hospital and handle the domestic details of the hospital. These ladies would in turn report monthly to the all-female Executive Committee.
One of the Lady Managers first duties was to find and hire a trained nurse. They hired Miss Almira C. Davis as Resident Directress. As a trained nurse, the first in Quincy, she was expected to train others. However, she lasted a little over two months in the position as there were only two patients and no medical staff. She moved on to a more illustrious position in Ann Arbor Michigan.
Now, instead of the doctor and matron making the admitting decisions, the Board of Lady Managers made the decisions. In those early years of the hospital, it was managed like a charity and not a health care institution. This Board made a variety of decisions but also had to raised money. For example, the July 3, 1878 minutes read, “ Mrs. H. stated that the institution was to have the use of a cow as soon as suitable quarters could be provided for her; that some of the materials and labor for building a shed had been already donated and that a few chickens would meet a cordial reception.” Those same minutes mention the lawn party held by Mrs. B. which raised $38.43.
In October of the same year, the ladies met with a special committee of the Adams County Medical Society “for the purpose of devising some method for providing medical and surgical attendance for Blessing Hospital.” The Executive Committee would annually elect seven members of the Adams County Medical Society to be the “Medical Board who shall have the medical and surgical charge of the patients of Blessing Hospital.”
No issue was too small to be mentioned in their minutes. In April, 1879, “Mrs. M. spoke of the advantage of wire screens for windows for the coming summer,” … a committee was formed “to ascertain whether wire screens could be procured on terms sufficiently favorable to justify the luxury.”
In their December 1, 1879 minutes, the ladies expressed concerned about the cost per patient saying they “have no desire to dictate to the Medical Board concerning its expenditure but aim … to exercise the judicious economy which a narrow and uncertain income demands. They respectfully invite the cooperation of the Medical Board in securing this end and will gladly welcome any suggestions from them.”
May 10, 1880 ended the fifth year of the Hospital. The annual report listed 63 patients for the year. There were 29 patients who paid for their own care. The Adams County Board of Supervisors paid for 16 patients and 18 patients were charity care and paid nothing. There were three births and eight deaths. The ladies reported the hospital income was $2,140.35 for the year. They had hired more nurses, had a cook and a laundress and said, “medicines, trained service, food and the stimulants often required are all costly.”
The ladies were still in contact with Miss Davis and relied on her to recommend trained nurses to hire. By 1882, their annual report stated: “A hospital without a skilled nurse was an anomaly which often threatened to prove too much for us, and if repose of mind counts for anything (to say nothing of the patient’s comfort), we have had ample returns from our investment.” That year, they reported their first deficit of $228.00.
Blessing Hospital’s dear friend and benefactor, Sarah Denman, died in 1882. In their grief, the Ladies voted to change the name of the hospital to Sarah Denman Hospital. The Board of Trustees said no, as they had no authority to do that, and the name remained Blessing Hospital.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources:
Board of Lady Managers, “Minutes,” (Quincy, IL, July 3, 1878).
Board of Lady Managers, “Minutes,” (Quincy, IL, April, 1879).
Board of Lady Managers, “Minutes,” (Quincy, IL, December 1, 1879).
“First Patients Data Book, 1875-1876.” Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives, 1876.
Bull, William. “Letter,” Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives, 1878
Report of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association: To the Public [Brochure]. Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives, 1877.
