Elias Koopman, born on 2 April 1862 in Amsterdam, was a son of Isaac Emanuel Machiel Koopman (1813-1875) and Rebekka Elias Pothuis (1825-1881). He was a cigar maker by trade and was approved for the National Militia; Elias was conscripted into the 7th Infantry Regiment on 5 May 1882.
On 27 December 1882, he married Rebecca Abraham in Amsterdam, who was born in there on 25 July 1861, a daughter of …