Samuel J. McElroy was born on October 30, 1841, in Union County, North Carolina, to Samuel and Jane McElroy. His father was a farmer. He grew up in Union County. By 1860, he was living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and working as a farmer. He lived next to William and Jane Sample, and he eventually began courting their daughter Margaret.

 

McElroy enlisted in the Confederate army on April 25, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 1^st North Carolina Infantry on May 13. He mustered out on November 12, 1861, when his 6-month term of enlistment expired. He returned to the Confederate army soon afterward, mustering in as a sergeant in Company A of the 11^th North Carolina Infantry in February 1862. Union forces captured him on July 3, 1863, in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was exchanged on September 16, 1863, and he eventually rejoined his regiment.

 

He fell ill around May 1864 and spent several months at home on furlough recovering his health. He returned to the field around September 1864, and he was wounded in October 1864. He remained in the army until at least January 1865.

 

He returned to North Carolina after the war, and he married Margaret Sample on January 19, 1866. They had at least eight children: William, born around 1867; Henry, born around 1869; John, born around 1873; Carrie, born around 1875; Flora, born around 1878; Eugenia, born around 1880; Mattie, born around 1884; and Una, born around 1887. They lived in Long Creek, North Carolina, and McElroy worked as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He remained in Long Creek for the rest of his life, and he died there of colon cancer on November 5, 1927.

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