Despite what has been written about him, Elisha did not sign the death warrant for John Brown's execution. He had resigned and left Virginia nearly two years before John Brown's raid, trial and execution on Dec. 2, 1859.

Elisha wrote to the "Monitor" in Fort Scott, Kansas after learning a local history teacher accredited him with signing John Brown's death warrant. Elisha stated, "I was not in Virginia during the time of the Brown embroglio, but was living in Chicago, and had no connection with it in any form." His statement was picked up and published June 13, 1878 in the "The Leavenworth Times," Leavenworth, Kansas.

Elisha was educated in Ohio and was admitted to the Virginia bar to practice law in 1841. He was commissioned a captain in the Eleventh Virginia infantry at the beginning of the war with Mexico. He served during the war, was wounded and taken prisoner. He was honorably discharged July 20, 1848. After the war he practiced law and drifted into politics and was elected to the Virginia legislature and then in 1855 he was elected lieutenant governor on the ticket with governor Henry A. Wise.

Elisha was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia for the 1856 – 1860 term and resigned Dec. 7, 1857, citing health reasons. He left Virginia and moved to Chicago, Illinois and was there a lawyer and editor of the "Chicago Times." In January of 1859 he was defending Henry Jumpertz, who was charged with murder, and lost the case. Elisha won an appeal and Henry was subsequently acquitted of the murder charge Dec. 13, 1859.

Elisha was prominent in the local affairs of Chicago. He delivered the welcome speech when the Prince of Wales visited Chicago in 1860. During the Civil War the paper was sold and Elisha returned to his old home in the new state of West Virginia. While living there, his father died in 1865. In 1868 he moved to a farm near Bellevue, Nebraska in Sarpy County, south of Omaha. Elisha moved to Fort Scott, Kansas about 1871. He lent himself in any way to help with the development of the city. He was the first president of the Board of Trade in Fort Scott and declined continuing in that position due to ill health.

Elisha wrote two books and a pamphlet which were of a religious nature. In his latter years he lived quietly and devoted himself to reading and writing. His wife died in 1885 and about 1888 he went to live at the Inter-State Hotel. His son Gordon was married Feb. 22, 1890 and Elisha gave him a farm stocked with cattle, horses and machinery. On March 1st he left his room at the hotel and went to live with Gordon on the farm to extend him the benefit of his knowledge of affairs on a farm. On Monday afternoon, March 10th, Elisha complained of a very severe pain in his chest. He ate a hearty supper and went to bed about 8 o'clock. Gordon found Elisha dead in bed about 7 o'clock the next morning.