Glasgow Williams was born around 1843 in North Carolina. Williams worked as a laborer and resided in Columbus County, North Carolina. Williams was charged with larceny on March 5, 1875, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Williams was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1139. In the descriptive register, Williams's race is noted as "colored." Williams was thirty-two years old when he was arrested. Williams was noted as being able to read. During his incarceration, Williams was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped from the Western North Carolina Railroad on March 21, 1876.