Andrew Powell was born around 1853 in North Carolina. Powell worked as a laborer and resided in Halifax County, North Carolina. Powell was charged with larceny on May 4, 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 866. In his sentencing records, Powell's race is noted as "colored." Powell was twenty-one 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, Powell was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 20, 1876.