[1][2] Tingley was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on July 6, 1847, the daughter of James P. and Susan Westcott, of early colonial ancestry.

[3] She was employed as a social worker in New York City when she met William Quan Judge.

After converting Tingley to Theosophy, Judge appointed her as the Outer Head of the Theosophical Society.

[3] On February 13, 1900, she transferred the Society's international headquarters from New York City to a new colony she called Lomaland, located in the Point Loma community near San Diego, California.

[4][5][6] In 1901, the Los Angeles Times printed a story entitled "Outrages at Point Loma; Exposed by an ‘Escape’ from Tingley.

She established several theosophical branch centers in America and in Europe, and also a summer school for children at Visingsoe, Sweden.