Ely was born in Williamsburg , Iowa , and raised in Davenport , Iowa . Having completed the eighth grade , he graduated from Davenport Grammar School 4 in January 1901 . Although some sources indicate that he attended and graduated from the Iowa State University in 1904 ( when he would have been 17 ) , the registrar of ISU reports that there is no record of his having done so - nor did he attend the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa . Ely likewise does not appear in the graduations lists for Davenport High School . By 1904 , Ely was employed as a chauffeur to the Rev. Fr . Smyth , a Catholic priest in Cosgrove , Iowa , who shared Ely 's love of fast driving ; in Father Smyth 's car ( a red Franklin ) , Ely set the speed record between Iowa City and Davenport . Ely was living in San Francisco at the time of the great earthquake and fire of 1906 and was active there in the early days of the sales and racing of automobiles . He married Mabel Hall on August 7 , 1907 ; he was 21 and she was 17 , which meant the marriage required her mother 's consent ; they honeymooned in Colorado . The Elys relocated to Nevada City , California , in 1909 , and for a time he drove an " auto stage " delivery route
great earthquake and fire of 1906
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Eugene Burton Ely