Agnes Corliss (maiden name: Batchelder) was born in Vermont on November 20, 1837, to Nathaniel and Jean Batchelder. Her father was a shoe maker who owned $975 of real estate in 1860. She was baptized in the Presbyterian Church in Barnet, Vermont, on January 7, 1838. She grew up and attended school in Caledonia County, Vermont, and by 1860, she was working as a farmer. She married Andrew J. Corliss on November 11, 1862, and they had at least two children: James, born around 1863; and Alice, born around 1867. The family settled in Caledonia County, Vermont, where Corliss worked as a farm laborer. The family moved to Cabot, Vermont, sometime between 1800 and 1910, and Corliss operated a dairy farm there. Agnes died in Washington, Vermont, on January 12, 1921.