John White was born around 1853 in Virginia. White worked as a laborer and resided in Caswell County, North Carolina. White was charged with larceny on March 31, 1875, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. White was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1164. In the descriptive register, White's race is noted as "colored." White was twenty-two years old when he was arrested. White was noted as being able to both read and write. During his incarceration, White was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on October 9, 1879.