 He became a prominent banker and married the daughter of a prominent family, Caroline Elizabeth Sims, on April 7, 1852.Shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama

Shortly after the creation of the Confederacy, President Jefferson Davis recommended Elmore as its first treasurer, a decision endorsed by the Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury Christopher Memminger and ratified by the Provisional Confederate Congress.He took office on March 6, 1861.