Samuel Lyon was born around 1850 in North Carolina. Lyon was a farmer who resided in Brassfield (Granville County), North Carolina. Lyon was charged with larceny on April 21, 1873, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Lyon was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 671. In the register, Lyon’s race is noted as Black.  Lyon 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, Lyon was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped from the railroad on March 31, 1876, and was recaptured on April 18, 1876. He was discharged from the railroad on April 29, 1878.