Christina was born on November 9th, 1812 and her baptism took place on November 22nd, 1812 in Cape Town. Christina's father was Johan Christiaan Ernstzen and her mother was Carolina Hendrina Maartens. She had two brothers and a sister, named Hendrik, Frans and Rosella. She was the second youngest of the four children. She had a half-brother and a half-sister, named Barend and Helena.