Jacob Grimm was responsible for his family at a young age

Grimm's family had five brothers and one sister, with Jacob and Wilhelm being the oldest. Their father, Philipp Wilhelm was a lawyer and also a town clerk in Hanau and later justiciary in Steinau. This is a small Hessian town where his father and grandfather had served as Calvinistic Reformed Church ministers. The brothers enjoyed playing in the wide-open fields that surrounded their home when the family relocated to the countryside in the town of Steinau in 1791. They were provided with a strict Lutheran education at home and they later attended neighborhood schools.

After his father died of pneumonia in 1796, the family experienced lots of financial troubles. Their mother had to rely on her father and sister for financial support, and they had to give up their servants and spacious home. Jacob and Wilhelm left their home in 1798 to enroll in Kassel's Friedrichsgymnasium, a school that prioritized music and foreign languages. During this time, the two brothers developed a close relationship.

And then the mother passed away in 1808 leaving Jacob, who was 23, in charge of four brothers and one sister. Wilhelm was taller, had a softer face, and was social and appreciative of all the arts, whereas Jacob, a scholarly type, was short and slim with precisely cut features.