Barrister Midgett was born around 1852 in North Carolina. Midgett was a farm laborer who resided in Beaufort County, North Carolina. Midgett was charged with larceny on April 1, 1874, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Midgett was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 837. In his sentencing records, Midgett’s race is noted as "colored." Midgett was twenty-two 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, Midgett was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on January 21, 1876.