Jack Gavin was born around 1839 in North Carolina. Gavin worked as a laborer and resided in Duplin County, North Carolina. Gavin was charged with larceny on May 18, 1874, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Gavin was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 892. In his sentencing records, Gavin’s race is noted as "colored." Gavin was thirty-five years old when he was arrested. He was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Gavin was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on March 29, 1876. He was convicted of larceny again in 1888 in Duplin County for allegedly stealing cotton and was sentenced to 5 years in the state penitentiary.