Sybilla, like most colonial women, had to put in long hours caring for her family and preparing their meals. Hominy was a popular food item at the time. Hominy meal, also known as Hominy Grits, was produced from ground-up Indian corn. Corn was ground between two enormous stones called millstones during the time, which was arduous labour.

Women History blog tells us that Sybilla saw Native American women pounding maize with long wooden posts and developed a mill that pounded the corn into meal with hammers rather than grinding wheels, naming the corn meal Tuscarora Rice. Sybilla's invention allowed the grain to be transformed into a variety of food and textile goods.

Sybilla sought to protect her two inventions by filing a patent application. Having a patent was a novel concept at the time. Patents were awarded in several colonies, but not in Pennsylvania, and a colonial patent was not equivalent to an English patent. In 1712, Sybilla made the decision to fly to England to obtain her patents, and she left Philadelphia. When she arrived in London, she discovered that there was no standard method for acquiring a patent, so she approached King George.

Sybilla Masters was a unique woman who was ahead of her time. It was a man's world in the Colonies. She was not only the first but also the only American woman to acquire a patent, until 1793, when America established its own patent office.