Scripps, Ellen Browning, 1836-1932

Ellen Browning Scripps was born in Parish, London on October 18, 1836. Ellen was exposed to books and publishing at an early age. Her grandfather was an accomplished publisher and her father, James Mogg Scripps was a successful bookbinder. In 1844, after the death of her mother, her father and her five siblings moved to the United States. The family settled in Rushville, Illinois. Ellen attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois where she graduated with honors in mathematics. She was the first female graduate of Knox College. After graduating from College, Ellen taught in public and private schools throughout Illinois. Ellen Browning Scripps also taught many of her siblings and took a particular interest in the education of E.W., her youngest half-sibling. In 1866, Ellen left Illinois to be a proofreader at her brother Jame's newspaper office in Detroit. However, she returned to Rushville after two years, to care for her ill father. She lived sparingly her entire working life and saved as much money as possible in order to help support family members. After her father's death, in 1873, she traveled back to Detroit to join her brother James who was founding the "Detroit News." In addition to proofreading for the paper, Ellen prepared her own column. The piece was entitled Miscellany for the Detroit "Evening News." The column was composed of short feature stories which she assembled each evening after a full day of proofreading. E.W. developed Ellen's idea of a daily feature column into the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) Service, Inc. Today the NEA, Inc., a Scripps-Howard company, provides a great number of publishers with commended political commentary and a collection of graphics and illustrations through their daily service. In 1881, Ellen traveled abroad with E.W. during her absence from the paper, Miscellany was replaced by letters she wrote from foreign countries. As a result of the publication of her travel correspondence, Ellen Browning Scripps is sometimes referred to as one of journalism's first foreign correspondents. In 1878, Ellen joined with E.W. in establishing the Cleveland Press. She also invested in many of his publishing enterprises including the Cincinnati Post and other newspapers of the rising Scripps League. Later in life, she moved to Southern California with E.W. and his family and built a home in La Jolla. Ellen Browning Scripps spent most of her wealth in order to create opportunities for many people. Over the years, she contributed to various colleges, museums, zoos, parks, libraries and other associations. Ellen was also known as an early supporter and leader of the woman suffrage movement. Ellen Browning Scripps died on August 3, 1932.

Educator, publisher, and philanthropist. After graduating from Knox College in 1859, Ellen taught for approximately seven years in public and private schools. In 1866 she became a proofreader at her brother James's newspaper office in Detroit and later began a column entitled Miscellany for the Detroit "Evening News." The column eventually became a daily feature for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) Service, Inc., which supplied daily features to many newspapers. Her philanthropies include the establishment of Scripps College, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Scripps Memorial Hospital, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines State Park, Bishop's School and James-by-the-Sea Church, and the first public playground in the United States which she deeded to the city of San Diego.

Biography

Ellen Browning Scripps, educator, publisher, and philanthropist, was born on October 18, 1836. Her middle name "Browning" commemorates the minister who converted her grandmother and baptized her mother. Ellen lived with her parents on 13 South Molton Street in St. George Parish, London, until the death of her mother in 1841. She was then placed in a boarding school for three years.

Ellen was exposed to books and publishing at an early age as her grandfather, William Armiger Scripps, was an accomplished publisher in London and her father, James Mogg Scripps (1803-1873), was a successful bookbinder.

Her father was married three times and fathered a total of thirteen children. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Sabey (1805-1831) in 1829. They had two children, William Sabey Scripps (1829-1831) and Elizabeth M. Scripps (1831-1914). James Mogg's second marriage was to Ellen's mother, Ellen Mary Saunders (1804-1841) in 1833. They had six children, Ellen Sophia Scripps (1833-1834), James E. Scripps (1835-1906), Ellen B. Scripps (1836-1932), William Armiger Scripps (1838-1914), George H. Scripps (1839-1900), and John Mogg Scripps (1840-1863). His third marriage was to Julia Adeline Osborn (1814-1893) in 1844. They had five children, Julia A. Scripps (1847-1898), Thomas O. Scripps (1848-1853), Frederick T. Scripps (1850-1936), Eliza Virginia Scripps (1852-1921), and Edward Wyllis Scripps (1854-1920).

In 1844, three years after the death of Ellen's mother, her father moved her and her five siblings to the United States. They set sail on a 44-day voyage on the Francis Burr. Upon arriving in America, the family settled in Rushville, Illinois, where several of Ellen's family members had already settled. Ellen's father commented to her grandfather regarding his decision to emigrate to America that "it was on the children's account that I came, believing that I could do nothing for them in England. They will no doubt do well here."

According to Edward Wyllis Scripps (E.W.), the family had a life in Rushville "not far removed from a pioneer farmer. All of the children were required to contribute their labor to the family's support. There were no servants. My mother was the head of the household." Since there were no public schools in Rushville in the 1840s and 1850s, Ellen attended seminary and a private school. She then attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois from 1856-1859 where she graduated with honors in mathematics. She was the first female graduate of Knox College. According to E.W., Ellen was the only one of James Mogg's thirteen children who obtained a college education. After graduating from Knox College, Ellen taught for approximately seven years in public and private schools in Hamilton, Augusta, and Rushville, Illinois.

Ellen Browning Scripps also taught many of her siblings and took a special interest in the education of E.W., her youngest half-sibling. According to J.C. Harper, "very early in his life his half-sister Ellen assumed a peculiarly close and intimate oversight of E.W., more like a mother. She had faith in him. She believed that he was a genius in many ways. She saw to his education, awakened his interest in books..." In E.W.'s biography of Ellen, he recalls "my childhood memory of Ellen is mainly made up of a neatly dressed, almost finickily cleanly young woman with a book in her hand. She was either teaching me spelling, the primmer [sic], or reading to me stories, or talking to me explaining to me things that were read about or things around us. I remember her reading to the family circle around the hearth, night after night, for endless time."

Ellen left Illinois in 1866 to be a proofreader at her brother James's newspaper office in Detroit. After two years in Detroit, she returned to Rushville to care for her ailing father until his death in 1873. While in Rushville, she also continued teaching. She lived frugally her entire working life and saved as much money as possible in order to help support family members. In 1873 she traveled back to Detroit where she joined her brother James who was establishing the "Detroit News." She invested her savings in the project and resumed her job as a proofreader.

In addition to proofreading, Ellen also prepared a column entitled Miscellany for the Detroit "Evening News." Miscellany consisted of short feature stories that she compiled each evening after a full day of proofreading. The column proved especially useful on days when there was little other news to report. E.W. developed Ellen's idea of a daily feature column into the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) Service, Inc. which supplied daily features to many newspapers. Today the NEA, Inc., a Scripps-Howard company, provides hundreds of electronic and print publishers with highly acclaimed political commentary and a selection of graphics and illustrations through their daily service.

In 1881, Ellen took a leave of absence from the paper and traveled abroad with E.W. During her absence, Miscellany was replaced by correspondence she wrote from foreign lands. Due to the publication of her travel letters, Ellen Browning Scripps is sometimes referred to as one of journalism's first foreign correspondents.

In 1878, Ellen became a partner with E.W. in founding the Cleveland Press. In later years she invested in most of his publishing enterprises including the Cincinnati Post and other newspapers of the growing Scripps League. She moved to Southern California with E.W. and his family in 1890, settling on a ranch at Miramar. In 1897 she retired from the newspaper business and built her first home in La Jolla.

As the Scripps League of papers grew, so did Ellen Browning Scripps's earnings. In 1900, she also received a considerable legacy from her brother, George H. Scripps. She was able to accumulate much wealth due in part to having never married and to her modest lifestyle. As she stated in a newspaper article regarding her house fire of 1915, "one of the papers spoke of my thousands of dollars of jewelry being lost in the fire. All the jewelry that I ever possessed would not sell for $20." She viewed her fortune as "a trust for the benefit of humanity" and not for her own indulgence.

E.W. said of his sister's wealth, "As I review the whole of Ellen's business career, it had been from start to finish motivated by a desire, on her part, to serve others. And yet with all this, she has prospered in a material way, and to such an extent, that there are probably not a thousand other people, men or women, in this country, who with all their striving, all their ambition, and selfish aims, have succeeded in accumulating a larger fortune."

Long before Ellen Browning Scripps accumulated her wealth, she regularly contributed time and what money she could to charities. As E.W. recalled, "all of my childhood memories of Ellen were of seeing her actively employed in some service - almost invariably entirely unselfish services. As I now make a rapid memory sweep o'er her whole life, it seems to me that she has persistently continued in this same course."

For the most part, Ellen Browning Scripps distributed her wealth in order to create opportunities for many people rather than to individuals for their personal use. Her philanthropies include the establishment of Scripps College; the establishment of Scripps Institution of Oceanography with her brother E.W.; the establishment of Scripps Memorial Hospital; the establishment of Scripps Clinic (which was the second such facility in the United States); the establishment of Torrey Pines State Park; the establishment of the Bishop's School and James-by-the-Sea Church with her sister Virginia; and the establishment of the first public playground in the United States which she deeded to the city of San Diego. She also contributed to Pomona College, Knox College, Cleveland College, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Zoo, various public libraries, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), churches of various denominations, the La Jolla Children's Pool, and the San Diego Woman's Club. She was also known as an early supporter and leader of the woman suffrage movement.

In August 1932, Ellen Browning Scripps died of lung congestion that was attributed to advanced age. In accordance with her wishes, there was no public funeral, only private cremation services. Her ashes were scattered on the Pacific Ocean near her La Jolla home and according to her obituary, "she wished no other monument than the scores of humanitarian and educational works which her generosity created."

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