Elizabeth Mary Adams was born in Iowa City, Iowa on November 12, 1927. She attended the University of Wisconsin--Madison, where she studied dietetics, graduating in 1949. In 1950 she married Ralph Ebbott, treasurer of 3M Company in St. Paul. Together they had four children: Andrew, Douglas, Alison, and Kendrick. Elizabeth Ebbott lived most of her life in the White Bear Lake, Minnesota area.

Ebbott was a strong leader dedicated to community service. She was elected to the White Bear Lake School Board (1972-1975), serving as the treasurer (1974-1975) for part of her term; was appointed to the Minnesota State Ethical Practices Board (1974-1984), serving three years as chairwoman, one year as vice chairwoman, and four years as secretary; was a founding member of the Steering Committee of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (1978-1980), a national organization of state ethics commissions; helped form and served on the Minnesota Board of Education Sex Bias Advisory Committee (1978-1982); worked with the American Lung Association; and was a trustee of the Minnesota Museum of Art (St. Paul). However, Ebbott's career revolved primarily around her work for the League of Women Voters of Minnesota (1959-1998), including serving as the organization's vice president (1971-1975).

Under the auspices of the League of Women Voters Ebbott researched, wrote, and lobbied on several issues. In 1960 she authored a local study, Presenting White Bear Lake; in 1958 she worked on Money in Elections, a LWV study of campaign financing in Minnesota; and in 1966 she was part of LWV's Minnesota Education - Equal for All?, a study of racial imbalance in school districts. Early in the 1960s Ebbott tapped her interest in Native American culture and began writing a book on the health, housing, status, land rights, child welfare, discrimination, and economic opportunities for Native Americans in Minnesota. The book, funded by the LWV, was published in 1962 as Indians in Minnesota. After 1966 Ebbott orchestrated the large, ongoing research project to update Indians in Minnesota, eventually producing four more editions (1971, 1974, 1984, and 1998).

Elizabeth Adams Ebbott died in White Bear Lake on June 30, 1998, just four days after finishing the 5th edition of Indians in Minnesota. Ebbott also published two family genealogies: Descendants of Colonel John Emery Adams, 1780-1840, and Descendants of Isaac Schneider, 1786-1879.