John Anderson was born around 1852. Anderson was charged with larceny on November 4, 1872, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Anderson was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 587. In his sentencing records, Anderson's race is noted as "colored." The register notes his "color" as Black. Anderson was twenty years old when he was arrested and was working as a house servant. Anderson was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. He died while imprisoned on August 2, 1875.