Cornelia Wiley (maiden name: Bottomly) was born around 1829 in Leicester, Massachusetts, to Samuel and Hannah Bottomly. Her father was a wool sorter who owned $2,500 of real estate by 1850. Her mother probably died in the 1830s, and her father remarried in 1838. She grew up in Leicester, and she attended Charlestown Female Seminary. She married John M. Wiley on January 1, 1850, and their son Samuel was born around 1851. Their son died the following year. They lived in Leicester, and her husband worked as a wool sorter. By 1860, they owned $150 of personal property. Her husband died in 1865, and by 1880, she was living with her father. By 1900, she was living with her brother Jerome in Leicester. She died in 1901.