[18] It is possible that many of the Ritchies' songs were absorbed from neighbors, relatives, friends, school mates and even books, as well as being passed through the family.

James Ritchie Sr. fought in the Revolutionary War in 1776 (including at the Siege of Yorktown), and lived in Virginia before settling on Carr Creek Lake in what is now Knott County, Kentucky, with his family.

Jean's father taught school, printed a newspaper, fitted specs, farmed and sent ten of his fourteen children to college.

[23]Her "uncle" Jason (1860–1959), who was actually her father's cousin,[24] practiced law while owning a farm in Talcum, Knott County, Kentucky.

[11] He was the source of several of Jean Ritchie's songs and Cecil Sharp narrowly missed meeting him in 1917, stating in his diary that "they couldn't get hold of him".

[28] Meanwhile, in 1946, whilst still in Kentucky, Ritchie was recorded performing traditional songs with her sisters Edna, Kitty, and Pauline by Emily Elizabeth Barnacle[29][24] and by Artus Moser.

[30] After graduating she got a job as a social worker at the Henry Street Settlement in New York, where she taught her Appalachian songs and traditions to local children.

[6] This caught the attention of folk singers, scholars, and enthusiasts based in New York, and she befriended Woody Guthrie, Oscar Brand, Pete Seeger, and Alan Lomax.

[24] To many, Ritchie represented the ideal traditional musician, due to her rural upbringing, dulcimer playing, and the fact her songs came from within her family.

[24] In 1952, Ritchie was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to trace the links between American ballads and the songs from England, Scotland, and Ireland.

[6] Ritchie and her husband, George Pickow, then spent 18 months tape recording, interviewing and photographing singers,[34] including Elizabeth Cronin,[4] Tommy and Sarah Makem,[24] Leo Rowsome,[24] and Seamus Ennis in Ireland;[34] Jeannie Robertson[4] and Jimmy MacBeath in Scotland; and Harry Cox and Bob Roberts in England.

[41] Ritchie directed and sang at the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959,[4][24] and served on the first folklore panel for the National Endowment for the Arts.

"[42] Her traditional version of "My Dear Companion" (Roud 411) appeared on the album Trio recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris.

[43] Judy Collins recorded some of Ritchie's traditional songs, "Tender Ladies" and "Pretty Saro," and also used a photograph by George Pickow on the front of her album "Golden Apples of the Sun" (1962).

[46] Ritchie had written numerous songs about mining under the pseudonym "'Than Hall," to avoid troubling her non-political mother, and believing they might be better received if attributed to a man.

[47] "Nottamun Town" (which Ritchie had learned from her uncle Jason and performed in 1954 on Kentucky Mountains Songs and in 1965 on A Time For Singin) was covered by Shirley Collins (1964), Bert Jansch (1966), and Fairport Convention (1969).

By the time Balis decided to teach her how to play, Jean was already accustomed to the instrument, so father labeled her as a "natural born musician".

[24] At first, they were shipped to New York in an unfinished state by Ritchie's Kentucky relative, Jethro Amburgey, then back to the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School.

[6] A friend reported on her 90th birthday, "Jean has been living quietly in Berea for the last few years, in good spirits and well cared for by neighbors and family.