Eli general birthdate was recorded in the 1850 Census for Marion County, South Carolina. He was the youngest child, and his age was penned as 6/12 of a year old on the Census taken on 17 October 1850. No one in Eli's family was literate at that time, and they could not spell or sign their own names. It is likely that Eli only knew his celebrated birthdate of 5th June 1853 by oral history told to him. The date of his birth on the birth certificate is the date the family recognized as his birthdate. The month and date of 1850 reflects the time his birthdate actually was, as he was alive and recorded in the 1850 Census as being 6 months old, on Oct. 17, 1850.
