 She was the daughter of Mildred Elizabeth Megeath (July 17, 1864 – 1923) and Francis Joseph Ives (July 19, 1857 – November 27, 1908).Her father was a career surgeon in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Major.Her father saw action in the Spanish–American War, serving initially in Cuba and later in the Philippines, before retiring to Washington, D.C. in 1908, where he died.