Remus Patterson was born around 1850 in North Carolina. Patterson worked as a laborer and resided in Anson County, North Carolina. Patterson was charged with larceny on April 22, 1878, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Patterson was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2673. Patterson's race was described as "colored." Patterson was twenty-eight years old when he was arrested. Patterson was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Patterson was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped from the Western North Carolina Railroad on September 19, 1879. There is no record of Patterson’s recapture.