When Elias Gundersen was born on 19 September 1734, in Aker, Akershus, Norway, his father, Gunder Eliasen, was 28 and his mother, Kari Henriksen, was 23. He married Juditha Jensdatter on 19 October 1757, in Aker, Akershus, Norway. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 4 June 1776, in Vestre Bærum, Bærum, Akershus, Norway, at the age of 41, and was buried in Vestre Bærum, Bærum, Akershus, Norway.