Tinner was the daughter of Mingo Proctor and Tenor (also known as "Old Tenor" to differentiate her from her daughter). Tenor was enslaved by the Reverend Roger Newton of Greenfield, Massachusetts. By 1790, the family was living in Colrain, Massachusetts, where Mingo is listed as the head of household for that year with three people noted in the "All other free Persons" column. Tinner or her sister Phillis would have been one of those three people. Both Greenfield and Colrain, vital records note the 1814 marriage of Tinner Proctor to Peter Green, Jr. of Colrain. He was 27 years old.