Plato Durham Ebbs was born in Madison County, North Carolina, on September 13, 1881. Ebbs was proprietor of Ebbs Brothers grocery company in Madison County from 1901 to 1945. He served as a legislator (elected 1915, 1923, 1925, & 1927) and as treasurer of the North Carolina Park Commission. He died in Asheville (Buncombe County) on October 18, 1946.