Eugene Harrison was born around 1846 in Texas. Harrison was a physician who resided in Wake County, North Carolina. Harrison was charged with larceny on April 15, 1874, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Harrison was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 841. The register notes his "color" as white. Harrison was twenty-eight years old when he was arrested. Harrison was recorded as being able to both read and write. During his incarceration, Harrison was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped from the Western North Carolina Railroad on August 10, 1876.