W. R. Bishop (alias “Evans”) was born around 1850 in Maryland. Bishop was a farmer who resided in Duplin County, North Carolina. Bishop was charged with horse stealing on November 18, 1874, and sentenced to 10 years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Bishop was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1014. In the descriptive register, Bishop's race is noted as white. Bishop was twenty-four years old when he was arrested. Bishop was noted as being able to both read and write. During his incarceration, Bishop was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped from the Western North Carolina Railroad in February 1876. There is no record of Bishop being recaptured.