Elisha Emerson was born on September 29, 1846, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Elisha Emerson and Maria T. Stacy. His father earned a living as a fish dealer. He grew up and attended school in Providence.

 

In January 1863, when he was sixteen years old, he debated enlisting in the Union army. On the one hand, he considered the bounty and wages insufficient. “What is that,” he asked, “to induce a man to leave the comforts of home and the society of his friends, to risk his life and endure the hardship and exposure incident to active service, for hardly more than common laborers get at home?” On the other hand, he felt “as if there was something going on which you want to take a part in, and felt as if you were doing some thing. I feel as if I wanted to go, and I dont think I would wait long if my folks would give their consent.” Ultimately, however, he did not enlist.

 

He worked as an electrician in Providence. He married a woman named Mary around 1902. They moved to Cranston, Rhode Island, in the early 1900s. He died there on March 20, 1932.

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