Lewis Harrell was born around 1855 in North Carolina. Harrell was a farm laborer who resided in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Harrell was charged with larceny on November 29, 1873, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Harrell was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 775. In his sentencing records, Harrell’s race is noted as "colored"  Harrell was eighteen years old when he was arrested. He was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Harrell was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was pardoned on July 4, 1876.