Rufus W. Woodside was born on January 5, 1861 in Concord, North Carolina. Woodside was a printer who resided in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Woodside was charged with larceny on June 3, 1878, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Woodside was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2724. In the descriptive register, Woodside's race is noted as white. Woodside was seventeen years old when he was arrested. Woodside was noted as being able to read and write. During his incarceration, Woodside was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was pardoned on December 16, 1878.