Ellen Brooke
Probably born 10 Apr. 1836 at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.[1] Daughter of Williame Lombe Brooke and Eliza Quant.[2] Married William Ferguson, by 1857; four children.[3] Emigrated to the United States, by 1860.[4] Lived in Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio, where, along with her husband, she edited and printed the Eaton Democrat, a weekly newspaper.[5] Chair of the Resolutions Committee at the Woman’s Suffrage Convention held in Indianapolis, June 1870.[6] Practiced medicine at Bloomington, McClean Co., Illinois.[7] Lived in Salt Lake City for a short time; moved to St. George, Washington Co., Utah Territory, to establish a secondary school, June 1876.[8] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Alexander F. McDonald, 1 July 1876, in St. George.[9] Returned to Salt Lake City, by Nov. 1877, where she taught classes in drawing, music, French, Latin, Italian, German, and medicine.[10] Friend and comrade of EBW.[11] Resident physician, surgeon, and member of the executive board of Deseret Hospital, 1882.[12] Traveled as a delegate to Washington DC to protest the Edmunds Law, Apr. 1886.[13] Alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention, July 1896.[14] Founding member and officer of the State Historical Society of Utah, 28 Dec. 1897.[15] Excommunicated from the church, 4 Mar. 1898.[16] Moved to New York City, by 1900.[17] Died 15 Mar. 1920 at Whitestone, Queens Co., New York.[18]
[1] 1851 England Census, Suffolk, Bury St. Edmunds, Parrish St. James, ED 2b, p. 1. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. H, pp. 361–362, Ellen Ferguson, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 22 Aug. 2018), Ellen Brooke (LQRR-81F).
[2] Thomas M. Blagg, ed., Cambridgeshire Parish Registers, Marriages (London: Phillimore, 1916), 32. 1851 England Census, Suffolk, Bury St. Edmunds, Parrish St. James, ED 2b, p. 1. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. H, pp. 361–362, Ellen Ferguson, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL. “England Marriages, 1538–1973,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJBB, accessed 10 Feb. 2018).
[3] Ann Gardner Stone, “Ellen B. Ferguson,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1978), 327–328. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:602. 1900 U.S. Census, Manhattan Branch, New York City, New York Co., NY, ED 475, p. 6B, Ellen B. Ferguson.
[4] 1920 U.S. Census, New York, Queens Co., NY, ED 199, p. 3B, Ellen B. Ferguson.
[5] Ann Gardner Stone, “Ellen B. Ferguson,” in Sister Saints, ed. Vicky Burgess-Olson (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1978), 328. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:602.
[6] “Woman’s Suffrage,” New York Times, 10 June 1870.
[7] McClean County Medical Society, Biographical History of the Members of the McLean County Medical Society of Illinois: One Hundredth Anniversary Edition (Bloomington, IL: McLean County Medical Society, 1954), 78.
[8] “Local and Other Matters,” Deseret Evening News, 22 June 1876, 3.
[9] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” database and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 5 Sept. 2018). “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. H, pp. 361–362, Ellen Ferguson, microfilm 183407 (restricted access), FHL. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:603.
[10] “Correspondence,” Deseret Evening News, 9 Nov. 1877, 3. “Local and Other Matters,” Deseret News, 21 Nov. 1877, 664.
[11] “Local and Other Matters,” Deseret News, 9 Mar. 1881, 1. “On Utah Affairs,” Salt Lake Herald, 9 May 1886, 12. EBW, Diary, 8 Feb. 1878; 14 Feb. 1881; 22 Apr. 1881; 6 July 1894.
[12] “Deseret Hospital,” Salt Lake Herald, 23 June 1882, 8. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:603.
[13] “On Utah Affairs,” Salt Lake Herald, 9 May 1886, 12. Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1904), 4:603. “At the Capital: Mormon Ladies Interviewed in Washington,” Ogden (UT) Daily Herald, 20 Apr. 1886, 1.
[14] “Incidents of the Convention,” New York Times, 9 July 1896, 2.
[15] “Administration Files: Articles of Incorporation, December 28, 1897,” database and images, Utah State Archives and Records Service (http://images.archives.utah.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p17010coll32/id/206, accessed 7 Oct. 2019); Division of State History and Records Service, series 3192, box 39, folder 1, image 10/21.
[16] Record of Members Collection, 1836–1970, Eighteenth Ward (Old), Part 1, 1907–1912, p. 117, CR 375 8, image 118/648 (limited access), CHL.
[17] 1900 U.S. Census, Manhattan Borough, New York City, New York Co., NY, ED 475, p. 60.
[18] “Death of Noted Salt Lake Woman,” Salt Lake Telegram, 17 Mar. 1920, 11. Salt Lake Co., UT, Death Records, 1849–1966, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 26 Sept. 2018). “New York City, Index to Death Certificates, 1862–1948,” database, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com, accessed 8 Apr. 2020), Ellen B. Ferguson.