Martin Shuford was born around 1850 in North Carolina. Shuford worked as a field hand and resided in Caldwell (Catawba County), North Carolina, with his wife Concelia "Lelia" Shuford. Shuford was charged with larceny on September 3, 1873, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Shuford was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 720. The descriptive register notes his "color" as Black. Shuford 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, Shuford was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on July 2, 1876.