Eliza Jane Hardman was born on February 1, 1840, in Georgia, to John and Polly Hardman. Her father was a farmer who owned $1,200 of real estate in 1850. She grew up and attended school in DeKalb County, Georgia. She married George R. Wells, on April 12, 1866, and they had at least four children: John, born around 1870; James, born around 1872; Mary, born around 1875; and Samuel, born around 1880. They settled in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and her husband worked as a dry goods and grocery merchant. By 1870, they owned $1,200 of real estate and $250 of personal property. She died on April 18, 1905.