Florence Jacobs, believed to have been born around 1904, grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn connected to the New York horse-racing world. She was the sister of prominent racehorse trainer Hirsch Jacobs, and her brothers were closely tied to racetrack life, spending time around stables, trainers, and betting circles in New York. Florence had thin features, deep brown eyes, and dark wavy hair worn in the shorter styles common during the 1920s. She married a garment district hat salesman (Milliner) Joseph Jacobson on April 14, 1926. The family remained connected to racing through her brothers, particularly Hirsch. Family tensions sometimes arose over money and opportunity. During one argument with Joseph who said: Why is Boychik (nickname) so fond of Hirsch? Florence reportedly replied, “Because Hirsch takes Boychik to Coney Island! I thought I had a husband who was a man. Hirsch is a millionaire, not a milliner!” Joseph slapped her on the face after that reply and then started drinking and cheating on her with Latin women from the East side.  Florence divorced Joseph in 1940 at which point Joseph started hanging out at the Copacabana Club for a couple years and was never heard from since the mid 1940's.