David Davis was born around 1847 in South Carolina. Davis was a farmer and blacksmith who resided in Tarboro (Edgecombe County), North Carolina, with his wife Sarah Davis and their children. Davis was charged with larceny on April 26, 1875, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Davis was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1222. In the descriptive register, Davis's race is noted as "colored." Davis was twenty-eight years old when he was arrested. Davis was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Davis was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on February 2, 1878.