Violet was the daughter of Peter, Sr. and Violette Green of Colrain, Massachusetts. She married Richard Sugland in Leyden, Massachusetts, on April 25, 1831. In the 1840 federal census for Keene, New Hampshire, the household consisted of three "free colored" people. This includes Richard, Violet, and their daughter Ann, who was 13 years old. By the 1850 census, the family was in Greenfield, Massachusetts with Chloriann age 25, John age 8, and Chloriann age 6. In the 1860 census Violet is listed in Brattleboro, Vermont. She was 65 and living with daughter Ann and her two-year-old daughter.