She is mentioned along with Aurora Karamzin and Mathilda Wrede as one of the most prominent philanthropists in her contemporary Finland.
Cecilia Blomqvist was the daughter of a rich sea captain in Pori.
Her mother and the first of her two stepmothers died early, and while still young, she was given the responsibility of her younger sister.
During the Famine of 1866-68, she nursed the sick and starving and found homes for orphans.
In 1883, she was appointed to found the charitable Helsinki Stadsmission for the poor.