Nathan Powell was born around 1821 in North Carolina. Powell worked as a laborer and resided in Columbus County, North Carolina. Powell was charged with larceny on March 8, 1875, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Powell was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1138. In the descriptive register, Powell 's race is noted as "colored." Powell was fifty-four years old when he was arrested. Powell was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Powell was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He died while working on the Western North Carolina Railroad on July 12, 1877.