Jemima’s parents were both servants who worked in the same wealthy household; they were not married, and Jemima’s mother was terrified when she found out that she was pregnant. She begged Jemima’s father to marry her, but he refused. Both Jemima’s father and the mistress of the household treated her cruelly and denied her proper care, leading Jemima’s mother to die only a few days after giving birth.

Jemima’s father sent her to a nurse, who neglected and abused her from a young age. Her father eventually remarried and took a new job as a shop owner; when his new wife gave birth to a child, they brought Jemima to live with them so that she could take care of her little stepsister. Jemima continued to grow up neglected by her father and stepmother, contrasting their coldness toward her with the love they showed her stepsister. Jemima recalls that “I was sent out in all seasons, and from place to place, to carry burdens far above my strength, without being allowed to draw near the fire” (81). Eventually, Jemima was sent to work as an apprentice in a clothing shop; she was treated very badly and forced to do hard work for long hours.