Harriet Chesnut Elmore (maiden name: Taylor) was born around 1802 in South Carolina. She married Franklin Harper Elmore on May 10, 1827, and they had at least seven children: Sally, born around 1829; Ellen, born around 1832; Cornelia, born around 1835; Grace, born around 1839; Mary, born around 1841; Albert, born on October 23, 1843; and Rosa, born around 1845. The family lived in Charleston, and her husband served as a bank president and United States senator. Her husband died on May 29, 1850. She moved to Columbia, South Carolina, soon afterward, and she earned a living as a farmer. By 1860, she owned $80,000 of real estate and $40,000 of personal property. She died in 1865.