Susan E. Kirby (b. Rice) (1844-1911) was born and died in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1864, she married George E. Kirby. He was a Civil War veteran, serving as a private in Company D of the 51st Massachusetts Infantry. After the war he was a manufacturer, making whips and then umbrellas, and he also served as sexton of the First Universalist Church in Worcester for 35 years. In the mid-1880s Kirby studied Christian Science with Annie V. C. Leavitt and Sarah H. Crosse, both students of Mary Baker Eddy, and by 1886 had started working as a Christian Science practitioner in Worcester. In February 1887 she took the Normal class from Eddy. She joined the Christian Scientist Association in April 1887 but withdrew in June 1888 following events surrounding the Abbie A. Corner court case. She was a contralto singer in the Worcester Unity church. Her obituary stated that she "was a strong believer in the mental science and had an extensive practice in this city for the past 15 years."

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