George Gilmore was born around 1855 in North Carolina. Gilmore was a brakeman who resided in Columbus County, North Carolina. Gilmore was charged with larceny on September 23, 1878, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Gilmore was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2843. Gilmore's race is noted as Black. Gilmore was twenty-three years old when he was arrested. Gilmore was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Gilmore was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on August 8, 1880.