Jan van Meerveld was born on 6 November 1864 in Putten, Gelderland. He was the son of farmer Willem van Meerveld and Hendrika Kieft. In early 1872, both of his parents died, leaving Jan, at seven, and his siblings orphans. They were placed into Putten Orphanage and later cared for by two sets of aunts and uncles (Hendrik and Thona van Meerveld and Peter and Beertje Vossegat).
Helena Slokker was born on 23 January 1866 in Diemen, Noord-Holland. Her parents were Gerrit Slokker, a farmer and labourer, and Mijnsje Lempke, a dressmaker.
Jan and Helena married on 8 January 1892 in Diemen; at the time they were a labourer and a servant. They had one son, and tragically four weeks later Jan died, on 25 September 1894 aged 29.
Helena worked as a cleaner and later started living with Teunis van Woensel, a coal worker and later a sailor. They had two children, before marrying in Diemen on 15 August 1911. However, Teunis divorced Helena on 6 March 1914, by which time they had already separated (Teunis having moved to Amsterdam and Helena remaining in Diemen). Teunis died in 1918, and shortly after that Helena moved to Amsterdam with her two younger children.
Helena lived in an apartment in Kattenburgerstraat, where she died on 20 January 1952 aged 85.
Children: Gerrit van Meerveld (1894-1975)
Jan van Woensel (1902-1927) Jacoba van Woensel (1910-1994)