Ehrmann was of German descent; both his parents emigrated from
Bavaria to the United States in the 1840s. Young Ehrmann was educated at the Terre Haute Fourth District School and the German Methodist Church. He received a degree in English from
DePauw University in
Greencastle, Indiana, which he attended from 1890 to 1894. While there, he was a member of
Delta Tau Delta's Beta Beta chapter and was
editor of the school newspaper,
Depauw Weekly. Ehrmann then studied philosophy and law at
Harvard University, where he was editor of
Delta Tau Delta's national magazine
The Rainbow, circa 1896. ==Professional life==