Els was born in 1750. Els' father was Märt and her mother was Liis. Her paternal grandparents were Mats and Pabbo; her maternal grandparents were Mats and Ann. She had two brothers and two sisters, named Mats, Mihkel, Epp and Madli. She had two half-brothers and two half-sisters, named Jaan, Hans, Epp and Kärt. She died at the age of 44 in 1794.