In 1846, the new Foundress with her two youngest children, Adeline and Frank, and three companions arrived in Derby. In this growing industrial town in the English midlands, Bishop Wiseman provided this new community with a large and quite unsuitable house.

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus had begun. Its beginning was small and there were many deprivations, but a spirit of joy and peace prevailed; Cornelia was able to inspire in her sisters something of her own serenity in adversity. They embarked upon a ministry of education among mill girls and poor children, setting up day and night schools as well as Sunday classes to accommodate the young factory workers, giving retreats and helping in the parishes.

Within two years, however, Pierce was creating difficulties for Cornelia. He was disillusioned and uncertain both about his own vocation to the priesthood and by hers to religious life. She was shaping her philosophy of education based on her life experience: the education of students would be best accomplished in a setting of trust and caring attention for each student.