When Elmer Richard Heywood was born on 28 May 1876, in Saint Clair, Saint Clair, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, Cyrus Richards Heywood, was 22 and his mother, Margaret, was 19. He married Mary Ellen Brown on 1 January 1901, in Girardville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 daughters. He lived in Hughesville, Lycoming, Pennsylvania, United States for about 10 years and New Hartford, Oneida, New York, United States in 1940. He died on 24 February 1943, in Williamsport, Lycoming, Pennsylvania, United States, at the age of 66.