[1] Her father, a judge, died in 1876, and she moved with her widowed mother and sisters to Raleigh, North Carolina to be closer to family.

Her uncle, John Esten Cooke Smedes, was the second president of St. Augustine's College in Raleigh.

[9][10] After she retired from the presidency for health reasons in 1925,[11] succeeded by Meta Glass,[3] she taught English at Rollins College in Florida.

[18] She wrote biographical articles for the Encyclopedia Americana (1920), and two monographs, Equal Franchise in Ohio and Suggestions for Teaching Literature in the Grades.

[3] Sweet Briar College honors the highest-ranking student in each class as an Emilie Watts McVea Scholar.