Charles Gaston was born around 1851 in North Carolina. Gaston worked as a laborer and resided in Guilford County, North Carolina. Gaston was charged with larceny on March 1, 1875, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Gaston was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1125. In the descriptive register, Gaston's race is noted as "colored."  Gaston was twenty-four years old when he was arrested. Gaston was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Gaston was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on October 14, 1879.