Elbert Armlin King was born on August 22, 1889, in Acme, North Carolina. King was a clerk at the Acme Store Co in Acme when he registered for the draft (World War I) in June 1917. He was subsequently inducted into the service in September 1917 and served with the 322nd Infantry until honorably discharged on account of a surgeon's certificate of disability on January 21, 1918. He was called to service again in August 1918 but it is unclear if he was ever formally reinducted. King died in Raleigh (Wake County) on May 15, 1967.