Born in Prussia, Lewis Kaufman immigrated to the United States in the 1840s. Where and when he met and married his wife, Rebecca—also German born—is not clear, however by the 1850s they were living in Rockland, Maine, where he was working in dry goods. Their daughter Rose was born there in 1857, and a second daughter, Helen, was born three years later. By 1870 the family had moved to Chelsea Massachusetts, where Kaufman’s profession is listed as a trader. Not long after that, the family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where they were involved with Congregation Beth Shalome and where Kaufman was buried in 1879.