William R. Frady was born around 1854 in North Carolina. Frady was a farmer who resided in Chimney Rock (Rutherford County), North Carolina, with his wife Sarah Frady (née Kuykendall) and their children. Frady was charged with larceny on April 7, 1873, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Frady was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 658. In the descriptive register, Frady’s race is noted as white. Frady was eighteen years old when he was arrested. In the register, it was noted that Frady was able to read. During his incarceration, Frady was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on January 28, 1876. William and Sarah Frady married on October 19, 1877, and went on to own their home and farm in Chimney Rock.