Warren Patrick was born around 1851 in North Carolina. Patrick was a farm laborer who resided in Greenville (Pitt County), North Carolina. Patrick was charged with larceny on May 10, 1875, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Patrick was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1245. In the descriptive register, Patrick's race is noted as "colored." Patrick was twenty-four years old when he was arrested. Patrick was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Patrick was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 24, 1877.