Jessie was the tenth and youngest child of John Farley, who emigrated to Australia from Devonshire, England, in 1860, and his wife Tamson (Honeychurch). John, who had originally worked in the Burra copper mines, and Tamson were pioneers with John's brother James of a section of land south of Burra, later known as Robertstown, and Jessie was born and grew up at Point Pass. She had a governess, Miss Barber, who later went on to teach John Collins' family at Mt Bryan, SA.
By 1909 Jessie's father had a house in Robe Terrace, Medindie, and this was apparently where Jessie was living at the time her book was published. She contributed poems to the Saturday Advertiser at the suggestion of politician and neighbour Sir Edward Lucas, also of Robe Terrace Medindie, who was a director of The Advertiser. Jessie married Frederick Henry Reginald Collins of Collinsville in the Tynte St Baptist Church, North Adelaide. They had two children; Monica (Glasson) and June (Martin). Fred set up Booloo Park, a "daughter" stud of Collinsville, at Booborowie. In the 1940s he retired and they went to live in NSW.
Jessie died at Goondiwindi and was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Tamworth, NSW.
