Jacobs, the protagonist and narrator of the memoir, was born to two mixed-race (mulatto) parents and had one brother, William, though she was raised mostly by her grandmother, Martha. Jacobs’s mother was enslaved and her father was a carpenter. Though he, too, was enslaved, his mistress let him live in relative freedom in exchange for two hundred dollars per year. Jacobs was intelligent, literate, cunning, and closely bonded to her family.

Jacobs was technically the property of Dr. Flint’s daughter, though in reality he wielded power over her. Though she had lighter color skin, ostensibly granting her relative privilege within the enslaved community, Jacobs’s narrative illustrates that greater proximity to a slave master’s household was no privilege. Her color, gender, and beauty made her the target of Dr. Flint’s obsessive sexual desire and Mrs. Flint’s relentless jealousy.

Jacobs gave birth to two children—Joseph and Louisa Matilda, whom she pseudonymously calls Benny and Ellen—both fathered by Mr. Sands, a White slave owner. Jacobs was fiercely devoted to her role as a mother, which inspired her decision to escape from the Flint family, after she passed into the hands of Dr. Flint’s son.