 Nancy McIntosh was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of William A. McIntosh (died 1921) and his wife Minerva "née" Bottenberg (died 1883).Her father was the president of a public company, the New York and Cleveland Gas Coal Company, and a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.The club's activities were blamed (but the members were not held legally responsible) for the failure of the South Fork Dam, which caused the Johnstown Flood in 1889 that resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.