When Cornelia was one month old, the Meigs family moved to Keokuk, Iowa. Cornelia went to school there. She finished studying at Keokuk High School in 1901. After that, she went to Bryn Mawr College. In 1907, she got an A.B. degree from Bryn Mawr. After that, she went to Davenport, Iowa. She taught children to write good English. The school where she taught was called St. Katherine's School. While she was teaching there, Cornelia started writing books.