Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a beggar who parades in rags and tatters in the hope of attracting greater sympathy.

1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn) 212: SHIVERING JEMMY, the name given by street folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half naked, on a cold day, to excite pity and procure alms.
1861		(con. 15C) C. Reade Cloister and Hearth (1864) II 33: Whom in England we call ‘shivering Jemmies’.
1873		Sl. Dict. 286: Shivering Jemmy, the name given by street-folk to any cadger who exposes himself, half named, on a cold day to obtain alms.
1887		Standard 20 June 52: The half-hearted beggars... are the ‘Shallow Coves’ and Shivering Jemmies of London slang [F&H].
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 240: One day he is a ‘shallow cove’ or ‘shivering Jimmy’; another he is a ‘crocus’ (sham doctor).
1901		Sunderland Dly Echo 9 Apr. 5/3: The men who work [...] on innocent passers-by are known as ‘shivering Jemmies’.