Elvira was the daughter of Martha Leach and Jacob Pierce of Campbell and Union Counties. She was the youngest of eleven children, with six sisters and three brothers surviving to adulthood. Her death certificate states her birth date as November 11, 1873. However, she first appears in the 1870 census, age 4. Thus, her death certificate, obituary and grave marker are all incorrect in stating she was born in 1873. We do not have a definite birth date for Elvira. She was probably born between 1866 and 1870.

On May 3, 1891, when Elvira was approximately 24 years of age, she married Isaac Calvin Sharp. Isaac was 15 years her senior and a widower with six children from his marriage to Matilda Brogan who had died in 1889. The children of Isaac and Matilda were James (1880-1880), Elizabeth (1882-1929), Charles (1884-1921), Roxie (1886-1899), Isaac Calvin, Jr. (1887-1968) and Asa (1889-1969). Since the 1890 census was destroyed, we rely on a Sharp family Bible to provide the names and birth dates for Matilda and her children.

Isaac and Elvira had ten children, seven daughters and three sons. They were married 20 years at the time of Isaac's death in 1911. According to the 1900 census, of Isaac's sixteen children, nine were still living at home. They ranged in age from one month to 20 years.

An excerpt from the obituary written by her daughter-in-law Freda Sharp :

"She professed a faith in Christ when young and joined the Church at Oak Grove on February 1914. She was a devoted mother. During her illness she called all of her children to her bedside and asked them if they were all ready to meet her in heaven. We feel that she is at rest."

Source of obituary: "The First 64 Original Printed Minutes of The Powell's Valley Association of Primitive Baptists Years 1906-1970" published by Ireland Cooke Printing Co., 1971.