Levi was born at Meriden, Connecticut on September 16, 1797, the son of Levi and Fanny Silliman Ives. He was brought up on his father's farm in Turin, New York. Levi served during the first year of the War of 1812 and studied at Hamilton College, but in 1819 left the Presbyterian for the Episcopal Church, and  studied under Bishop John Henry Hobart and was graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
Levi Ives was born on September 16, 1797, in Meriden, Connecticut, to Levi and Fanny Silliman Ives. He grew up on his father's farm in Turin, New York, served during the War of 1812, attended Hamilton College, converted from Presbyterianism to Episcopalianism, and studied under Bishop John Henry Hobart at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.