Agatha Mary Agnes Tiegel was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 14, 1873.

[1] At age seven she contracted spinal meningitis, which left her deaf and blind in one eye.

[1] At commencement, Tiegel gave a speech titled "The Intellect of Women," saying, "That such repression and restraint upon mental action are artificial has been demonstrated in all ages by women whose independence has burst every fetter and won them recognition in the fields of science, theology, literature, politics and art".

[7] After graduating Tiegel accepted an appointment to teach at the Minnesota School for the Deaf, where she worked for six years.

She wrote poetry throughout her life and published a book of poems titled Overflow Verses.

[4] In her poem titled "Inner Music," she described her deafness as an "imperfection," but one that allowed for "diviner harmony" and "peacefulness".