Ella Bertha Holmes was born on December 18, 1856, in New York, the daughter of Edwin Holmes[1] and Eliza Ann Richardson. She had two brothers and a sister.[2] Holmes later moved to Briarcliff Manor, New York, staying at the Briarcliff Lodge (her apartment was The Oak Room),[3][4] and when in New York City she would stay at the Waldorf-Astoria or the Plaza Hotel.[5.