Scripps Family Collection

Finding aid created by La Jolla Historical Society staff using RecordEXPRESS
La Jolla Historical Society
7846 Eads Avenue
La Jolla, California 92037
(858) 459-5335
dhicks@lajollahistory.org
https://lajollahistory.org/
2023


Descriptive Summary

Title: Scripps Family Collection
Dates: 1814 - 2013
Collection Number: RG005.59
Creator/Collector: Scripps, Ellen Browning
Extent: 13 Linear Feet
Repository: La Jolla Historical Society
La Jolla, California 92037
Abstract: The Scripps Family Collection is a compilation of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and brochures regarding Scripps family members and organizations created by or supported by the Scripps Family. The collection contains significant correspondence of the Ellen Browning Scripps Commemoration Committee and several of its prominent members including William Scripps Kellogg and Edward Dessau Clarkson. See container list under "additional collection guides" for a listing of file headings.
Language of Material: English

Access

The collection is open for research

Publication Rights

The La Jolla Historical Society holds the copyright to any unpublished materials.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Scripps Family Collection. Collection Number: RG005.59. La Jolla Historical Society

Biography/Administrative History

The Scripps family claims English descent dating back to the Norman Conquests. James Mogg Scripps, a bookbinder by trade, immigrated with his six children to the United States in 1844. The family settled in Rushville, Illinois where James and his third wife purchased a farm. In all, James Mogg Scripps had 13 descendants, of which only ten would live past the age of ten years old. Three of these children rose to prominence and formed the nucleus of the now famous Scripps name: James E., Edward Willis, and Ellen Browning Scripps. James was one year older than Ellen. Edward was 18 years Ellen’s junior and would come to rely heavily on his much senior half-sister throughout his life. Their father being a book binder by trade had a large library for a poor 19th century farmer, allowing the children to begin reading at an early age. Ellen would go on to become one of the first women to receive a college degree from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois in 1859. Ellen was an educator for the next 16 years. James had become part owner and publisher of the Detroit Advertiser. His sister would join him working on the paper. Their younger half-brother Edward joined them in their newspaper endeavors in 1872. In 1873 their newspaper, newly named the Detroit Tribune, burned to the ground. The three used the insurance money, savings, salvage, a small insurance payment from their father who had died the same year, and investments from the rest of the siblings to start The Detroit News. The Detroit News was the first of many successful publishing ventures for the Scripps family. Ellen Browning first came to San Diego in 1889. She had come to California to visit an ailing sister in Alameda, California. Edward Willis followed in December 1890. In 1891 the rest of the family was sent for. In 1897 Ellen Browning Scripps settled in La Jolla. E. Virginia Scripps came to live with Ellen that same year. The Scripps family used their wealth to become involved in many philanthropic endeavors and left many legacies. Some more prominent organizations and endeavors started by or supported by the Scripps family include: The Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla Women’s Club, The Children’s Pool, Torrey Pines State Park, Scripps Memorial Hospital, Scripps College, Bishop’s School, St. James by the Sea Episcopal Church, and Scripps Cottage at San Diego State University. The Scripps family has also supported and continues to support many authors, editors, and organizations too numerous to mention. The La Jolla Historical Society inspires and empowers the community to make La Jolla’s diverse past a relevant part of contemporary life. The La Jolla Historical Society’s Collections encompass over 80 years of actively collecting archival material, books, maps, scrapbooks, ephemera, fine art, newspapers, street and land use files, business and personal documents and historic and archaeological artifacts. The Society boasts over 20,000 photographs, over 1000 postcards, 600-plus architectural drawings and approximately 200 oral history recordings. Collecting was initiated by Howard Randolph and volunteers on the historical committee of the Library Association of La Jolla. The Collection began by gathering photographs and documentation in the late 1930s, which later became the nucleus of the La Jolla Historical Society’s Collections. The Society was created in 1964. Through many moves in location the Society continued collecting and expanding. Accumulated Collections took on its current construct in 2010 after the renovation of the La Jolla Historical Society’s campus of structures in central La Jolla, which consists of the 1904 Wisteria Cottage and 1940s Balmer Annex used for exhibits and programming, and a 1909 cottage used for business and research offices. The late Ellen Browning Scripps’ 1916 automobile garage was also renovated and now houses the Collection in a modern collections storage facility. Materials are housed in archival boxes, sleeves, envelopes and other archival-safe materials and are cared for according to standards and best practices of the museum profession. In 2016, the Society initiated new PastPerfect Museum Software to manage and catalog its Collections and in 2018 started using the Online Archive of California to upload searchable information from its Collections to enable improved public access. The Society will continue these processes and look forward to utilizing new opportunities to collect, preserve and share the history of La Jolla.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Scripps Family collection consists largely of correspondence and newspaper articles in reference to the Scripps family and the organizations and events celebrated in their honor. The collection contains a biographical element with respect to Scripps family members focusing on, but not exclusively dealing with Ellen Browning Scripps, E. Virginia Scripps, and EW Scripps. The collection has numerous photographs and negatives of people and events relating to the Scripps family and the Scripps name. The bulk of the correspondence in the collection is from the Ellen Browning Scripps Commemoration Committee and the organizations and people they corresponded with. Clarkson and Kellogg were Co-chairmen of the EB Scripps Commemoration Committee. Clarkson published a biography of Ellen Browning Scripps in 1958. Many of the notes and the original manuscript are in the collection, the Scripps biography is in the Historical Society’s library. The collection has correspondence from three regions: La Jolla (including San Diego County), Illinois (including Rushville and Knox college), and Detroit. There are many newspaper and magazine articles referencing the Scripps family, organizations supported by the Scripps family, and biographical pieces. These articles range from 1915 up to 2006. Many organizations are represented in the collection. Documents collected from these organizations include correspondence referencing the Scripps family. Organizations that were started by members of the Scripps or had significant contributions made to them by Scripps have been documented through brochures, pamphlets, and newsletters. The collection has a significant album and scrapbook component as well. One photographic album contains images of E. Virginia Scripps at Miramar Ranch in 1900, another is a greeting card collection most likely collected by the Scripps family dated from 1879-1885. A third photographic album contains aerial images of La Jolla and San Diego. This album has the name E. Virginia Scripps etched in gold on the front cover. See container list under "additional collection guides" for a listing of file headings.

Indexing Terms

La Jolla Historical Society

Additional collection guides