Taylor High was born around 1846 in North Carolina. High worked as a farm laborer and resided in Halifax County, North Carolina. High was charged with larceny on May 4, 1874, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. High was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 871. In his sentencing records, High’s race is noted as "colored." High was twenty-eight 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, High was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 30, 1876.