He was the only son of Charles Scribner II and Louise Flagg (1862–1948).
His maternal grandparents were Amelia Louisa (née Hart) Flagg and Jared Bradley Flagg, an Episcopal priest and a notable painter.
[3] His uncle was Ernest Flagg, a notable architect who designed two Beaux-Arts buildings for Scribner's New York headquarters.
After graduating from Princeton, he went to work for the Charles Scribner's Sons publishing company, which had been founded by his grandfather in 1846.
[2] In 1915, Scribner was married to Vera Gordon Bloodgood (1891–1985), daughter of Hildreth Kennedy Bloodgood,[9] Together, they were the parents of: Scribner died in New York City on February 11, 1952.