Gilbert J white's father, George White, was a wealthy flax mill owner who moved from Rotherham to Burnley in 1720 in order to take advantage of the potential business opportunities that would be opened up by the newly proposed Leeds and Liverpool canal. George White had married Ann Pennant, the daughter of a renowned aristocratic zoologist in 1719. As a result of this union they had their first son Stephen in 1720 followed soon afterwards by Gilbert (Christened Gilberta Julienne) in 1722.

Both children were brought up with a keen interest in animals and their local surroundings. They spent much of their spare time in the nearby woodlands at Mereclough and Worsthorne with frequent expeditions to watch birds on Briercliffe with their uncle Jasper (Jamaica Jack, as he was affectionately known) whenever he returned from his long sea voyages. During this time Gilbert acquired considerable observational knowledge about the lives and habits of the wild animals and birds that could be found in the area. Once Gilbert was able to read proficiently, this became supplemented by books from George White's extensive library loaned primarily from his father-in-law.

The latter part of the 18th Century saw many advances in philosophy, science and medicine but attitudes towards women had remained unchanged. It was not possible, for example, for women to enter the Church and so were unable to study at the great English colleges such as Oxford and Cambridge. Frustrated by the inability to gain more than a basic schooling, Gilberta White decided to change her name to Gilbert Julian White and take on the persona of a man. By this deceit she was able to enter Oriel College, Oxford and obtain a Bachelors Degree in 1744 and was made a Fellow of the College in 1747.

During her time at Oriel college Gilbert was introduced to the translated writings of Carl Linnaeus whom she eventually met at the home of her grandfather during one of Linnaeus's brief visits to England. During the following years Gilbert corresponded regularly with Linnaeus, sending him observations of birds and animals together with vivid descriptions of the countryside and people in the surrounding Burnley, Brierfield and Padiham parishes. Much of Linnaeus's latter year thinking on the classification of plants was influenced by Gilbert's observations and reasoning. Drafts of these letters were eventually gathered together and sent to London for publishing as a book of collected writings in 1770 entitled The Archaism and Flora and Fauna of God's Good Parish of Burnley.

Throughout the latter part of her life much of Gilbert's work was confused by the scientific establishment with that of a similarly named cleric from Hampshire. This was compounded by her choice of publisher, Benjamin White and sons, who had also been engaged to publish a lesser but eventually more popularly known work, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selbourne. There were a series of court cases involving claims of plagiarism on the part of both parties but most instances were found to be due to genuine confusion by the publisher. The costly legal fees of these court cases, together with the continual delay in the construction of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, eventually resulted in the financial ruin of Gilbert and her father.