John Reid (or "Reed"), alias Jesse Palmer, was born around 1852 in North Carolina. Reid was a field hand who was charged with larceny on November 4, 1872, in Halifax County, North Carolina. Reid was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 588. In his sentencing records, Reid's race is noted as "colored." The register notes his "color" as Black. Reid was twenty years old when he was arrested and had received enough formal education to be able to read upon the time of his admittance to the Penitentiary. During his sentence, Reid was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. Reid was discharged from his imprisonment on the Western North Carolina Railroad on August 11, 1877.