Ernest Lee Fletcher was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky on November 12, 1952. He was the third of four children born to Harold Fletcher, Sr. and his wife, Marie. The family owned a farm and operated a general store near the community of Means. Harold Fletcher also worked for Columbia Gas. When Ernie was three weeks old, Harold was transferred to Huntington, West Virginia. Two years later, the Fletchers returned to Robertson County, Kentucky, where they lived until Ernie Fletcher began the first grade. The family moved once more and finally settled in Lexington.