Elias Franklin Stafford was born in Forsyth County, North Carolina, on September 15, 1856. Stafford moved to North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County) as a young adult, where he owned a sawmill. In 1903, he co-founded Oak Furniture Company, a furniture factory in North Wilkesboro. Stafford died in North Wilkesboro on March 8, 1932.