Who was Ellen G. White?
White Memorial Medical Center's passion for community healthcare
is fueled by the legacy of the hospital's namesake, Ellen G.
White. A central figure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
Ellen White is remembered as a charismatic pioneer of health
reform at the turn of the 20th century.
White's early life provided no hint of her eventual rise to
prominence. She and her twin sister, Elizabeth, were born to
Robert and Eunice Harmon on November 26, 1827. The family,
including eight children, lived on a small farm in rural Maine
until they moved to the city of Portland, Maine, a few years
after the twins' birth.
A severe injury from a rock thrown by a child when White was nine
years old nearly ended her life. But she recovered after lying
unconscious for three weeks.
As she continued to grow toward adulthood, White began to sense a
strong calling of God on her life. It was during this time that
she and her family joined the fledgling Adventist movement.
In August 1846, Ellen married James White, an Adventist preacher.
Through study and dialogue with other Adventists, the young
couple deepened their convictions toward the Adventist beliefs.
Ellen became a prolific writer of Christian prophecy and
teaching, while James became a publisher of Adventist papers.
White's role as a health reformer started in 1863 after she and
her family moved to Battle Creek, Michigan. During a prayer
gathering in nearby Otsego, White became convinced of the
relationship between physical health and spirituality, the
importance of following natural laws in diet and care of the body
and the benefits of clean air, sunshine, exercise and pure water.
Soon, the Adventists adopted White's health message as one of the
basic tenets of the church. In September 1866, a group of
Adventists opened the Western Health Reform Institute of Battle
Creek to care for the sick and teach healthy living. Adventist
doctor John Harvey Kellogg became physician-in-chief at the
renamed Battle Creek Sanitarium in 1876 and later lent his name
to one of the best-known cereal brands in America.
In the following years, the Whites traveled throughout the United
States on behalf of the Adventist Church, preaching, speaking,
writing, establishing printing shops and strengthening churches.
After James died in 1881, Ellen carried on the work with fervor,
even taking a nearly two-year tour of the European Adventist
churches and, later, living in Australia for nine years and
working in the Adventist movement there.
At the urging of Ellen White, Adventists began opening healthcare
facilities in California, first in St. Helena in 1878; in
National City (near San Diego) in 1904; and in both Glendale and
Loma Linda in 1905.
"There is much to be done for suffering humanity, and sanitariums
should be established for healing, restoring and educating,"
White wrote. "We are to labor both for the health of the body and
the saving of the soul."
White frequently visited Southern California to encourage the
healthcare work that was being established all over the region.
Inspired by her leadership, the health facility in Loma Linda
opened a medical school, which led to the work in Los Angeles and
the founding of White Memorial Medical Center - named in honor of
White died on July 16, 1915, at Elmshaven, her home near St.
Helena, California. She was buried in Battle Creek, Michigan,
next to her husband.