William Elliott III (27 April 1788-3 February 1863) was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the eldest son of William and Phoebe Waight Elliott. Although he is known today as the author of Carolina Sports, he also wrote essays, poetry, political pamphlets, and verse drama, and was a planter, legislator, economist, and philosopher.

The Elliott family came to Charleston from Cornwall, England, around 1685 via the Barbados. William Elliott I, the author's grandfather, was the first to make Beaufort his home. There he wed Mary Barnwell, of another highly respected family. The author's father, William Elliott II (1761-1808), was a patriot, a public-spirited planter, and a delegate to the state convention which ratified the Constitution. He was also the first to produce sea-island cotton, a commodity to which the life of the Elliotts was always tied.

By the time William Elliott III was born, the family was already a remarkable dynasty, and...