Tony Searcy was born around 1859 in North Carolina. Searcy worked as a laborer and resided in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Searcy was charged with larceny on May 10, 1875, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Searcy was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1241. In the descriptive register, Searcy's race is noted as "colored." Searcy was sixteen years old when he was arrested. Searcy was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Searcy was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on March 24, 1877.