[6][7] Slater grew up in a Quaker family in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with two sisters, five brothers and parents Lydia and Oziel.
Brown recommended the Wilkinson home as a suitable place for Samuel Slater to board when he arrived in the area in early 1790.
[8] In the same year, Samuel opened his own mill in the area and began to build machinery for manufacturing textiles, modeled after the machines he was familiar with in England.
[citation needed] In 1793, Samuel Slater showed Hannah some very smooth yarn he had spun from long staple Surinam cotton.
[3] By creating a more robust thread, Hannah's invention contributed to improving the quality and durability of textile products.
This innovation was particularly significant in the context of the American textile industry, which was seeking ways to compete with already established European manufacturers.
She participated in religious and welfare organizations in Pawtucket, including the establishment of a village Sunday School and a Female Beneficent Society in 1809.