On Christmas Day in 1814, future Little Rock Mayor Eli Colby was born in Warner, New Hampshire.

At the age of 23, he moved to Little Rock in 1838.  After arriving, he soon became the editor and publisher of the Times and Advocate newspaper.  As a publisher and printer, Colby also had the contract to print official state notifications and documents in the early 1840s.

Politically, Colby served as a Justice of the Peace for several years.  In September 1843, he was elected Mayor of Little Rock in a special election to fill a vacancy. He was 28 years and nine months old, making him the youngest mayor in Little Rock’s history.  He left office in January 1844.  He died March 15, 1844, at the age of 29 after a long illness and was buried with Masonic honors.

No image of him is known to exist.