He was a descendent of German immigrant Johann Christoph Ehringhaus, who arrived in North Carolina in the early nineteenth-century and opened a bank in Elizabeth City.

[6] Ehringhaus was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), Elizabeth City Lodge #856.

Governor O. Max Gardner coaxed Ehringhaus, a former state legislator and attorney, out of political retirement as his hand-picked successor.

He narrowly defeated Lieutenant Governor Richard T. Fountain in a Democratic primary runoff.

The second longest bridge in the state of North Carolina, a 3.5-mile stretch over the Albemarle Sound, is named in honor of this former governor.