Emma Dorothea Beck was born in Aalborg, Denmark to parents Frederick and Henricka Beck, who were converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was the oldest of seven children, with three having been born in Denmark and the other four being born in Utah. When Emma was around nine years old her family emigrated from Denmark to Utah, first arriving in Salt Lake City then moving to Alpine. 

In Alpine, around 1885, Emma married (Michael) Sylvester McDaniel. The couple had four children: Jesse, Lillian, John, Norma. They supported themselves from a family farm that Sylvester worked. Additionally, their daughter Lillian worked as a dressmaker and their son John worked as a laborer. In 1912 the family moved to the Teton Basin, Idaho. Eventually, at the age of 66, Sylvester passed away in Teton, followed by Emma at the age of 78 (May 24, 1934).