She was born in Delft on 20 November 1648. In Rijswijk on 11 April 1678 she married Adriaan van Gendt, a marriage frowned upon by her relatives, and they became the parents of nine children. He was Lord of Oldersum, Oosterwedde and Papenburg and, as Lieutenant-Colonel, had lost his left leg on 22 June 1673 at the defence of Maastricht. 
They lived impoverished in Zaltbommel until 1702 when she found her one-legged husband making advances to a servant. Leaving her husband, she moved to The Hague where she lived in even worse financial conditions. Not only owing money to shops but also involved in costly legal processes, she was kept going only by a legacy of Prince Maurits to his sister Emilia and her descendants which was called 'the pension of Portugal'. Even though this legacy was the 
cause of disharmony between Emilia's descendants, it at least kept Elisabeth Maria going. Adriaan van Gendt died on 10 August 1708 and Elisabeth Maria on 15 October 1717 in Vianen where she was apparently living with her daughter.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas