Known as Hetty, Esther Nones was the daughter of Revolutionary War hero, Benjamin Nones and Miriam Marks Nones. She and her nine siblings were raised in Philadelphia, active in the community around Congregation Mikveh Israel. Although he faced financial difficulties, Benjamin Nones devoted much of his time to service and charity, as parnas of the congregation, an officer of the Jewish charity the Society of Ezrath Orchim, and working with an anti-slavery society. Benjamin passed down his passion for politics and public service to his children, many of whom (including Hetty’s brother, Abraham, consul-general in Zulia, Venezuela) pursued careers in civil service and public life.

In 1815, Hetty married Solomon Jacobs, son of Ashkenazi immigrants Bernard and Judica Jacobs, and the couple soon moved to Richmond, Virginia. There Solomon worked as a banker and agent of the Rothschilds and held several local political offices: city recorder in 1815 and 1818, and acting mayor in 1818–1819. The couple was active in Congregation Beth Shalome. They had six children—at least four of whom survived—and when Solomon died, in 1827, the oldest, Miriam, was twelve, while the youngest, named Solomon in tribute to his father, would be born a few months later.