Tom Belmore was born around 1859 in North Carolina. Belmore was a farmer who resided in Rowan County, North Carolina. Belmore was charged with larceny on April 29, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Belmore was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2679. Belmore's race is noted as "colored."  Belmore was nineteen years old when he was arrested. Belmore was noted as being able to both read and write. During his incarceration, Belmore was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on April 2, 1879. Belmore was shot and killed on December 31, 1880.