Eliza was born in Denmark to Jacob and Dorothea Christensen and the family came to the United States in 1857 after joining the Mormon Church in Denmark in 1855. Jacob was known as Jacob Christensen in Denmark, following the patronymic system of naming. His own children, while living in Denmark, followed the same system and went by the surname of Jacobsen. Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1857 with the Mathias Cowley Company, they all took the name of their paternal grandfather, Madsen. Jacob's father was Christen Madsen.

The family left their home in Skibsted, Aalborg, Denmark, and spent the winter of 1856-1957 in Hurup, Als, Denmark. When they left Hurup, Denmark, they sailed from Copenhagen on the steamer "L.N. Hvidt," and arrived at Grimsby, England, April 21st in the afternoon, then the journey was continued the following day by rail to Liverpool. They sailed from Liverpool, England, on April 25, 1857, aboard the ship "Westmoreland" and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 31, 1857. While on board the ship the evening of April 24th, five young couples were married. The Jacob Christianson family are listed on the ship's roster as follows:

Jacob Christianson, age 50, Farmer, Dorothea Christianson, age 39, wife, Hans Christianson, age 18, farmer, Annie Christianson, age 6, Neils Christianson, age 2, Eliza Christianson, age 7, Anton P. Christianson, age 4, Inger, infant, and Franklin, Infant. One of their sons, Christian, who was born in 1844 in Denmark, had already come to the U.S. with another family in 1853 at the age of 9 years old. It evidently took a while for the family to divest themselves of their land and possessions in Denmark before they could join Christian in Utah.

On June 2, the family traveled by rail from Philadelphia, via Baltimore, Wheeling, and then Iowa City, Iowa on July 9, 1857. Travel conditions were so terrible on the way to Iowa that they lost their youngest son, Franklin. The balance of the way to the valley was difficult and heart rending. About June 15th, the company commenced the journey toward the Great Salt Lake Valley from Iowa City with an ox-train, under the captain Elder Matthias Cowley. They arrived in Salt Lake City September 13, 1857.

They arrived at the time of the coming of Johnson's army, so after several days, they were sent south with the other saints.  They remained in Nephi for the rest of the years 1857-1858, and then moved to Ogden.  In about 1863, they moved to Bloomington, Bear Lake, Idaho, where Eliza's father died at the age of 73, which was in about 1878 or so.