Born Frederic Joseph DeLonchamps in Reno, Nevada on January 2, 1882, the son of Felix DeLongchamps and Exilda Gibeau.
He was raised in Washoe County, graduating from Reno High School in 1900, then the University of Nevada in 1904 with a degree in mining engineering.
He spent a short time in San Francisco where he may have apprenticed, but he returned to Nevada in 1907 and formed a partnership with Ira W. Tesch.
He was awarded the contract to design the Nevada Buildings for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915), winning a silver medal for his work.
He was the father-in-law of the noted poet and artist Joanne de Longchamps (that is how she spelled the name), who married DeLongchamps's adopted son Galen.