Elijah Keese was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina on April 20, 1766. During the American Revolution he witnessed the marriage between William Guest and Anna Allen in his father's home, and attested to the fact in an affidavit in support of Anna Guest's pension application. He later moved to Pickens District, South Carolina, where he was a farmer. He died in Pickens District on November 1, 1850.