When Elvie McDonald was born on 20 February 1890, in Myrtle, Oregon, Missouri, United States, his father, George Thomas McDonald, was 24 and his mother, Sarah Catherine King, was 21. He married Ettie Cotham on 1 January 1911, in Myrtle, Oregon, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Oak Grove Township, Oregon, Missouri, United States in 1920 and Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado, United States in 1930. He died on 6 May 1956, in Myrtle, Oregon, Missouri, United States, at the age of 66, and was buried in Thayer, Oregon, Missouri, United States.