I saw on the leaderboards where some folks have 51, 52, or 53 elders. Is there a way to get more than 50 that I'm missing out on? Thanx.

You could get a special event that gives you an additional elder

i have 51 elders but i didnt get it from an event. at least i didnt see any event, no windows to tell me about an event. i think i had 49 elders and then i had 2 villagers that reached elder status at the same time. *shrugs*

I've heard of an event that can get you another elder. Start Hi-lighting here for spoilers: --> One of your villagers finds a mirror on the ground with two words on it. You can either speak the first word or the second word. The outcomes (there are two) seem to randomly switch back and forth between the words. One outcome is that the mirror shatters, and nothing else really happens. The other is that a clone of your villlager will be made. I assume this can get you an extra elder if that villager is already an elder, although you may want to verify that with someone.