Ella Pitcher Berry Endowed Scholarship

SCHOLARSHIP BACKGROUND

Known to generations as "Aunt Ella," Ella Pitcher Berry decreed that it would not be her fault if the Pitcher family was not educated. She set up scholarships at several Indiana colleges and universities including Franklin College -- for her descendants. Mrs. Berry was born in 1865 in a log cabin on Indian Creek in Trafalgar, Ind. She was one of seven children. Her high school graduating class was comprised of four students, and she was the only female of the group. She went on to earn a college degree and to teach school in Indiana. While in college, a classmate gave her the name of a young man in Boston looking for a pen pal. The man was William Berry. The two fell in love through their correspondence and agreed to meet for the first time at the World's Fair in Chicago. They were married shortly thereafter, and Mrs. Berry followed her husband back to Boston. However, she never felt comfortable in that city and described it as "too stiff for her." She never forgot her days growing up in Trafalgar and, per her request, after her death her ashes were spread on Indian Creek.

SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS

First priority for the Ella Pitcher Berry Endowed Scholarship goes to descendants of Mrs. Berry, regardless of their residence. Second priority goes to residents of Hensley Township and third priority is to residents of Needham Township in Johnson County. Following that, the award may go to residents of Johnson County and, after that, to residents of Indiana. The financial aid office determines the recipients.