A BRIEF ELROD HISTORY WRITTEN IN 1920

  Elrod, a red-headed man, is said to have come from over seas as one of the men manning a boat.  The captain, fearing he would not have men sufficient to make the return voyage, stopped several miles off shore. Elrod, together with some others, let himself down into the water and swam to the shore.  The history of his wanderings, marriage, and final settlement is obscured, but two sons, Abraham and Isaac, married sisters, the Misses Stanton, and settled in upper South Carolina.

  Abraham had six sons and three daughters.  One son, Adam, was drowned while crossing a swollen stream to deliver an important message.  The message was found safely secured in his hat.  Elias, the oldest son, was a little man, and he married Miss Mary Howard Douthit, a little woman.  Their descendants here became known as the "Little Elrods."  They are the families of Elias Franklin, Mrs. Maria, Mrs. Anna, Mrs. Laura Ashmore, and Mrs. Emily Chiles.

  After Elias married, his father, Abraham, moved to Georgia where the other two sons, Abraham the second and George, and two daughters, Rachel and Lavinia, were married.  Abraham the second later moved to Arkansas. We have lost lost sight of the Georgia and the Arkansas relatives.

  Elias had seven boys, all of whom fought in the Civil War, and all returned with whole bodies.  Six of these boys, Abraham the third, Jim, John, Ben, George, and Sam, and one daughter, Elizabeth, who married William Cely, moved to Texas where all of them died.  There is in this state one descendant from this group, Della Cely, who married J.W. Childers and now lives in Greenville.  Sam's wife moved back here after his death and is now living at Honea Path, S.C.

  Only three of Elias's thirteen children are now living: Elias Franklin, Mrs. Anna Elrod, and Mrs. Emily Chiles.  There are now living in this state 145 of his descendants.

  Isaac, the brother of Abraham the first, had five sons and three daughters:  John, Jacob, Tom, George, and Adam, and Harriet and Vina.  No trace has yet been of John, Jacob and Tom.  George married in this country, and has some descendants, but a record of the family has not yet been made.

  Adam was a large man, and he married Miss Sallie Moore, a large woman.  Their descendants became known here as the "Big Elrods."   They had eight boys and seven girls:  Richard, John the second, Isaac the second, George the second, Frank, Jasper, Elijah, and Jim; Emily, Mary, Caroline, Vina, Lizzie, Martha, and Maria.  Seven of these boys fought in the Civil War, and six of them were killed.  In this state are found the descendants of Richard, John, and Jim, and of four of the girls: Mrs. Emily Cely, Mrs. Lizzie Mears, Mrs. Martha Mauldin, and Mrs. Maria Merritt.

  Of Adam's fifteen children three are now living: Jim, Miss Vina, and Mrs. Martha Mauldin.  There are now living in this state 325 of his descendants.

  Nine pairs of twins have been found in the family in this state, though only three pairs bear the Elrod name.

  Since the founder of the family was said to be red-headed, some search for that characteristic has been made among the descendants.

So far only ten have been found.

(I presume this work was done by Mr. Charles H. Carpenter) 

Charlotte Curlee Ramsey
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cramsey/index.html