Eugene Adams was born around 1843 in North Carolina. Adams was a farmer who resided in Davie County, North Carolina. Adams was charged with larceny on April 1, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Adams was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2634. In the descriptive register, Adams's race is noted as Black. Adams was thirty-five years old when he was arrested. Adams was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Adams was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 2, 1879.