Robert Powell was born around 1856 in North Carolina. Powell worked as a laborer and resided in Warren County, North Carolina. Powell was charged with forgery on February 23, 1874, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Powell was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 809. In his sentencing records, Powell’s race is noted as "colored." Powell was eighteen years old when he was arrested, and he was noted as being able to both read and write. The descriptive register states that Powell escaped from Wilmington on July 18, 1875, and was recaptured and brought back to the prison on August 10, 1875. During his incarceration, Powell was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 17, 1876.