William Scripps (1749-1823) had an unsuccessful shoemaking business in his native England, and in 1791 he decided to emigrate to America. He settled in Alexandria, Va., where he worked as a boot and shoemaker on King Street (see Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, 2:107). Scripps later resided in what is now Morgantown, W.Va., and Cape Girardeau, Missouri (see James E. Scripps, A Genealogical History of the Scripps Family and Its Various Alliances [Detroit, Mich., 1903], 10-12).

GW occasionally used Scripps's services while the latter operated his business in Alexandria. For instance, in December 1791, GW paid Scripps for making slippers for his niece, Harriot Washington (see Ledger B, 352).