Samuel Johnson was born around 1862 in North Carolina. Johnson worked as a laborer and resided in Rowan County, North Carolina. Johnson was charged with larceny on April 1, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Johnson was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2617. In the descriptive register, Johnson's race is noted as white. Johnson was sixteen years old when he was arrested. Johnson was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Johnson was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was pardoned on October 31, 1878.