Little is known of her early life, though she was well educated - could read and write with ease. In later years she was asked to write letters back to Germany to the relatives of her Logansport friends. She came to the United States on the sailing vessel "Weiland," sailing from the port of Bremen, Prussia. She may have met Carl "Fred" Berg aboard ship. They arrived in New York on May 20, 1854. They traveled together to Logansport, Indiana where they were married on July 30, 1854. They had one son whom the named Friedrich Christian Berg. Her husband died two years later in 1856, leaving her without a way to support the child. Of necessity, she remarried - this time to Charles Grovenmeier - on October 30, 1857. They had one child - a daughter, named Augusta, born April 22, 1858. Fred Berg and Augusta Grovenmeier grew up in Logansport as brother and sister. Charles died not long after, leaving Tiene a double widow. She cared for her children as best she could, seeking help from the people of the St. James Lutheran Church in Logansport. She resided at 108 4th Street in Logansport.

The name Tiene became Dina, then Bernhardine. In Fred's autobiographical sketch, he wrote that his mother's name was Bernhardine Busse. Yet, her birth certificate from Germany clearly shows hers as Tiene.

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