Dennis Jones was born around 1853 in North Carolina. Jones worked as a laborer and resided in New Hanover County, North Carolina. Jones was charged with larceny on February 12, 1874, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Jones was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 802. In his sentencing records, Jones’ race is noted as “colored." Jones was twenty-one 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, Jones was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He died while working on the Western North Carolina Railroad on December 13, 1876.