Elias N. Conway was born on May 17, 1812, in Greenville, Tennessee, the ninth of ten children and the youngest son of Thomas and Ann Conway. After the death of his eldest brother Henry, Elias was said to be the true brains of the "Family."
Elias moved to Little Rock in 1834 and was appointed U. S. Deputy Surveyor. In 1835 Territorial Governor William Fulton appointed him as Territorial Auditor. Conway was then elected the first auditor of the new state by the General Assembly.
Elias Conway turned 30 in 1842 and was thus eligible to be governor. The politics of the time, however, forced him to withdraw in favor of David Chapman and eventually Thomas Drew. He continued to serve as auditor until 1848, when Christopher Columbus Danley defeated him by only two votes. In their 1850 rematch, Danley won by only one vote.
When Roane sought not to seek re-election in 1852, Conway decided to run for governor. His opponent was Bryan Smithson, an independent Democrat who had the support of the Whigs. Smithson, a champion of internal improvements, tried to brand Conway as the "dirt roads candidate," but Conway prevailed 15,442 to 12,414.
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