Butler Saunders was born around 1854 in North Carolina. Saunders worked as a laborer and a wood chopper. He resided in Richmond County, North Carolina, and later Asheville (Buncombe County), North Carolina, with his wife Retter Saunders. Saunders was charged with larceny on May 10, 1878, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Saunders was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2700. Saunders's race is described as "colored." Saunders was twenty-four years old when he was arrested. Saunders was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Saunders was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on December 13, 1882.