Virginia Burton was born in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. As a child, she was called "Jinnee." Her mother was Lena Yates, a lyric poet and artist from England whose poetry was first published at age 20. Yates later published children's books under the name Lena Dalkeith. Later, she went by the moniker Jeanne D'Orge. Virginia Burton's father, Alfred E. Burton, married Lena Yates after he had been widowed with two sons. Yates was 30 years his junior. They were married in 1906, having met on a walking trip in France. Notably, Burton's father served as the first Dean of Student Affairs for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1902-1921). Alfred Burton had been widowed.