Dock Jenkins was born around 1850 in North Carolina. Jenkins was a farmer who resided in Columbus County, North Carolina. Jenkins was charged with assault with intent to commit rape on March 26, 1873, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Jenkins was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 645. In his sentencing records his race is noted as "colored." Jenkins was twenty-three 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, Jenkins was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on November 26, 1877.