My grandmother arrived in Providence, now called Annapolis, in 1683. There she worked as a field hand. While serving her time she learned all she could about this new country that was so different from her own.

In 1688 some Quakers who came from Germany, wrote the first protest against slavery in the American colonies. In 1690 Big Mama was given her freedom. It was customary that freed servants were to be given provisions to start a new life on their own. This included an ox, two hoes, three barrels of corn, some clothes and a small amount of cash. They were also allotted come land to rent. Big Mama paid for for hers though her crops. Eventually she was able to buy it.

It was hard for a woman to make it alone. She sometimes got help, in the beginning, from some friendly neighbors. Big Mama decided the only way she could handle her farm was to get some help. She needed a couple of hands to help her with the strenuous work. However, she was opposed to slavery, in large part due to what she had gone through. She felt she had no other alternative but to try and purchase some.