John Bright was born around 1843 in North Carolina. Bright was a cook who resided in Wilmington (New Hanover County), North Carolina, with his wife Mary Jane Bright (née Evans) and their children. Bright was charged with larceny on June 3, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Bright was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2738. In the descriptive register, Bright's race is noted as Black. Bright was thirty-three years old when he was arrested. Bright was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Bright was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on May 4, 1879.