earnhardt had german ancestry. he was born in kannapolis, north carolina as the son of effie mae furr (august 30, 1895 – september 1979) and john henderson earnhardt (mar 23, 1879 – nov 5, 1953). john henderson earnhardt's first wife was florence phillips (oct 7, 1877 – nov 18, 1922). he and florence had four daughters — mary, eula, margie, and octa vayne.