Pleasant “Ples” Hairston was born around 1857 in North Carolina. Hairston worked as a laborer and resided in Fulton (Davie County), North Carolina, with his wife Martha Hairston. Hairston was charged with larceny and receiving stolen goods on May 13, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Hairston was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2713. Hairston's race was described as "colored." Hairston was twenty-one years old when he was arrested. Hairston was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Hairston was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on April 13, 1879.