Junius Irving Scales was born on June 1, 1832 in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Scales was a Confederate veteran, lawyer, and member of the Board of Directors of the Western North Carolina Railroad Company. Junius was the brother of Alfred M. Scales, a legislator who served as Governor of North Carolina from 1885 to 1889. He died on July 12, 1880 in New York, New York.