He became a lawyer and the most influential Republican Party leader in Haywood County following the Reconstruction era.

He reported being taught to read as a young child by his former slave master's children, and moved quickly through school.

He studied Latin, German, and mathematics with a Vanderbilt student whose recommendation got him a Peabody Scholarship to Fisk University.

Senator Roderick R. Butler to be the speaker of the House of Representatives, and received 32 of the 93 votes.

McElwee and his family left Haywood County because of violence against African Americans.

He established a newspaper and a law firm in Nashville, but he and his family moved to Chicago in July 1901.