Alexina Jessie Taylor was born on May 10, 1842, in Camden, South Carolina, to William and Alexina Taylor. Her father was a farmer who owned $12,000 of real estate and $125,000 of personal property by 1860. The family lived in Kershaw District, South Carolina, until the 1850s, when they moved to Richland District, South Carolina.
She married Albert Rhett Elmore on June 16, 1868, and they had at least five children: Franklin, born around 1869; William, born on June 9, 1873; Grace, born around 1875; Alexina, born around 1877; and Thomas, born around 1880. They moved to Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, in the late 1860s, and her husband earned a living as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $1,600 of personal property. They moved to Alachua County, Florida, in the 1870s, and by 1900, they were living in Jacksonville, Florida. Her husband died on March 11, 1915, and she passed away in Alachua County, Florida, on December 12, 1918.