Robert Teel was born around 1847 in North Carolina. Teel worked as a laborer and resided in Martin County, North Carolina. Teel was charged with larceny on October 30, 1873, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Teel was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 745. In his sentencing records, Teel's race is noted as "colored." Teel was twenty-six 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, Teel was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on September 20, 1878.