Elijah Hawkins was born in Newberry County, South Carolina on March 3, 1811. A resident of Smyth County, Virginia, he served as a minister at Lutheran churches in Smyth and Wythe counties. In December 1845 he attested that earlier that year he preached at the funeral of Margaret Kinder, a Revolutionary War widow and a member of his congregation. He died in Smyth County on March 5, 1868.