Elias Lint was born in Greenville, Pennsylvania. In the early 1850s, just after he was married, he and his wife traveled west and settled in the newly platted town of Preston, Minnesota. Elias quickly rose in rank there to become the Justice of the Peace. In 1859 he and Joseph Sommers partnered to form a brewery in town. Although his interest in the brewery was short-lived the brewery was obviously a welcome addition and continued to serve the community for another sixty years after his divestment. Lint retired from the brewery business when he was barely 30 years of age, after which he devoted his time to the law and civic duty, eventually becoming town treasurer and judge. Elias Lint died on April 30, 1921 at age 91 years.