Thomas Christopher Elliott, born 1814, was one of the six children of John Elliott and his wife Maria née Strong of Lewes, Sussex. John senior was a grocer and wine merchant with a shop at 49 High Street, Lewes. The Elliott family of Sussex can be traced back to a Thomas Elliott who died in Bury north of Arundel in 1551. The family had lived in that area of west Sussex until John senior moved to Lewes during the first decade of the 19th century.