Ellis Reynolds Shipp MD FAAP (January 20, 1847 – January 31, 1939) was one of the first female doctors in Utah and west of the Mississippi. She founded the School of Nursing and Obstetrics in 1879, and was on the board of the Deseret Hospital Association. Shipp successfully combined motherhood and a medical practice, saying, "It is to me the crowning joy of a woman’s life to be a mother." In her 50-year medical career, she delivered more than 5000 babies and led the School of Nursing and Obstetrics to train more than 500 women as licensed midwives.

Biography

Born Ellis Reynolds, she emigrated with her family to Utah Territory in 1852. Her family was among the early Mormon pioneer settlers of Pleasant Grove, Utah. In 1866, Ellis Reynolds married Milford Shipp. She bore a total of ten children, six of whom survived infancy. Shipp began studying at the

University of Deseret The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, and later in Philadelphia at the

Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in 1875. She left her children behind in Utah Territory in the care of her husband's three other wives. Brigham Young sponsored her education in the eastern United States and she later did further medical studies at the University of Michigan. When she returned to Utah, Ellis Shipp worked with

Eliza R. Snow Eliza Roxcy Snow (January 21, 1804 – December 5, 1887) was one of the most celebrated Latter Day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture an ...

to start an obstetrics school, eventually training 660 midwives. In 1910, she published a book of her own poems, ''Life Lines''. Shipp served as a member of the General Board of the

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

from 1898 to 1907. She also served on the general board of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. Shipp died at age 92 in Salt Lake City on January 31, 1939, of cancer.

Honors

A neighborhood park in Salt Lake City, Utah, is named in Shipp's honor; it is located near where she lived and practiced medicine. A public health center in

West Valley, Utah West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 census, making it the second-largest city in Utah. The city incorporated in 1980 from a large, quic ...

, is also named in her honor. Ellis Reynolds Shipp Hall (Building 11) of the women's dormitories in the old

Heritage Halls Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical ...

at Brigham Young University was named after Shipp. Shipp is honored with a display room in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake City.

Notes

References

*. *. *. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shipp, Ellis Reynolds 1847 births 1939 deaths American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters American women physicians Drexel University alumni Mormon pioneers People from Pleasant Grove, Utah Relief Society people University of Michigan Medical School alumni University of Utah alumni Young Women (organization) people American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Physicians from Utah American women poets Deaths from cancer in Utah American women hymnwriters Latter Day Saints from Utah American women non-fiction writers