James Henry Scullin was born in Trawalla, Victoria on 18 September 1876.
His parents, John and Ann (née Logan) Scullin, were both Irish Catholics from County Londonderry.
His father was a railway labourer, who emigrated to Australia in his 20s.
His mother joined her husband in Australia later.
James was the fourth of eight children, and grew up in a tight-knit and devoutly Catholic home.
James attended the Trawalla State School from 1881 to 1887 and earned an early reputation as an active and quick-witted boy, though never physically robust.
These characteristics would remain with him for life.

  The family moved to Mount Rowan, Ballarat in 1887, and the young James attended school at Mount Rowan State School until 12.
Thereafter he held various manual odd-jobs in the Ballarat district until about 1900, and for ten years from 1900 he ran a grocer's shop in Ballarat.
In his mid-20s he attended night school, was a voracious reader and became somewhat of an autodidact.
He joined a number of societies and was active in the Australian Natives' Association and the Catholic Young Men's Society, eventually becoming president of the latter.
He was also a skilled debater, participating in local competitions and having an association with the Ballarat South Street debating society for nearly 30 years, which would prove formative to his interest and talent in politics.
 Scullin was a devout Roman Catholic, a non-drinker and a non-smoker all his life.

Scullin became active in politics during his years in Ballarat, being influenced by the ideas of Tom Mann and the growing labour movement in Victoria, as were many of his later ministerial colleagues such as Frank Anstey, John Curtin and Frank Brennan.
 He became a foundation member of his local Political Labor Council in 1903 and was active in local politics thereafter.
He was a campaigner and political organizer for the Australian Workers' Union, the union movement with which he would remain most closely associated throughout his career.
 He spoke often around Ballarat on political issues and helped with Labor campaigns at state and federal level.
At the 1906 federal election he was selected as the Labor candidate for the seat of Ballarat against then Prime Minister Alfred Deakin.
Although a race in which Labor had virtually no chance of winning, Scullin ran a spirited campaign and impressed those within the movement for his efforts.

On 11 November 1907 he married Sarah Maria McNamara, a dressmaker from Ballarat.
The marriage was childless.
Due to Scullin's frequent and often serious bouts of illness over his long career, Sarah served the role as her husband's protector and was a crucial source of support and care for her husband, particularly in his final years.
She was frequently called to assist or stand in for her husband at social occasions when her husband's illness prevented him from attending personally.
She was an active member of the Labor Party herself, and would remain well-informed on politics.
Very unusually among Australian political spouses (and even more so during the period of her husband's career), Sarah would often attend parliamentary sessions, and would even be present during the debate and vote that brought her husband's government down.
James Henry Scullin was born in Trawalla, Victoria on 18 September 1876. His parents, John and Ann (née Logan) Scullin, were both Irish Catholics from County Londonderry. His father was a railway labourer, who emigrated to Australia in his 20s. His mother joined her husband in Australia later. James was the fourth of eight children, and grew up in a tight-knit and devoutly Catholic home. James attended the Trawalla State School from 1881 to 1887 and earned an early reputation as an active and quick-witted boy, though never physically robust. These characteristics would remain with him for life.
  The family moved to Mount Rowan, Ballarat in 1887, and the young James attended school at Mount Rowan State School until 12. Thereafter he held various manual odd-jobs in the Ballarat district until about 1900, and for ten years from 1900 he ran a grocer's shop in Ballarat. In his mid-20s he attended night school, was a voracious reader and became somewhat of an autodidact. He joined a number of societies and was active in the Australian Natives' Association and the Catholic Young Men's Society, eventually becoming president of the latter. He was also a skilled debater, participating in local competitions and having an association with the Ballarat South Street debating society for nearly 30 years, which would prove formative to his interest and talent in politics.  Scullin was a devout Roman Catholic, a non-drinker and a non-smoker all his life.
Scullin became active in politics during his years in Ballarat, being influenced by the ideas of Tom Mann and the growing labour movement in Victoria, as were many of his later ministerial colleagues such as Frank Anstey, John Curtin and Frank Brennan.  He became a foundation member of his local Political Labor Council in 1903 and was active in local politics thereafter. He was a campaigner and political organizer for the Australian Workers' Union, the union movement with which he would remain most closely associated throughout his career.  He spoke often around Ballarat on political issues and helped with Labor campaigns at state and federal level. At the 1906 federal election he was selected as the Labor candidate for the seat of Ballarat against then Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. Although a race in which Labor had virtually no chance of winning, Scullin ran a spirited campaign and impressed those within the movement for his efforts.
On 11 November 1907 he married Sarah Maria McNamara, a dressmaker from Ballarat. The marriage was childless. Due to Scullin's frequent and often serious bouts of illness over his long career, Sarah served the role as her husband's protector and was a crucial source of support and care for her husband, particularly in his final years. She was frequently called to assist or stand in for her husband at social occasions when her husband's illness prevented him from attending personally. She was an active member of the Labor Party herself, and would remain well-informed on politics. Very unusually among Australian political spouses (and even more so during the period of her husband's career), Sarah would often attend parliamentary sessions, and would even be present during the debate and vote that brought her husband's government down.
James Scullin