Ferber was born August 15 , 1885 , in Kalamazoo , Michigan , to a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper , Jacob Charles Ferber , and his Milwaukee , Wisconsin-born wife , Julia ( Neumann ) Ferber , who was of German Jewish descent . She moved often due to her father 's business failures , likely caused by his early blindness and eventual death . After living in Chicago , Illinois , she lived in Ottumwa , Iowa with her parents and older sister , Fannie , from age five to twelve . In Ottumwa , Ferber faced brutal anti-Semitism as just a child . She recalled when adult males would verbally abuse her , mock her , and spit on her every day as she brought lunch to her dad . At the age of 12 Ferber and her family moved to Appleton , Wisconsin , where she graduated from high school and briefly attended Lawrence University . She took newspaper jobs at the '' Appleton Daily Crescent '' and the '' Milwaukee Journal '' before publishing her first novel . She covered the 1920 Republican National Convention and 1920 Democratic National Convention for the United Press Association
1920 Republican National Convention
1920 Republican National Convention
Edna Ferber