WILLIAM HARVEY ELROD, of Fort Payne, DeKalb County, State senator 1915 from 29th District was born September 24, 1855, at Golden Springs, South Carolina, the son of David Daniel and Jane (Owen) Elrod, and the grandson of Philip and Tempie Elrod, of South Carolina, and of Lewis and Dorcas Owen, of the same state. Senator Elrod was educated in the common schools of his county. He was postmaster at Floy from 1880 to 1904. He was a member of the House from DeKalb County in 1907. He is a Democrat and was on the Democratic State Executive Committee in 1892. He is a Methodist, a Mason, and a Knight of Pythias. On January 12, 1879, at South Hill DeKalb County, he was married to Martha G., daughter of Philip and Annie (Smith) Gilbert, formerly of North Carolina. Mrs. Gilbert was educated at the old Female College, Gainesville, Georgia. Her brother, Robert Smith, was among the very first lawyers of Cherokee County, and was a partner of Thomas B. Cooper.
Source: Mrs. Frank Ross Stewart, Cherokee County History, 1836—1956, Volume 2 (Centre, Alabama, 1959), p. 440. Reprinted with permission.