Miles Stinson was born around 1848 in North Carolina. Stinson worked as a laborer and resided in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Stinson was charged with larceny on May 17, 1875, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Stinson was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1260. In the descriptive register, Stinson's race is noted as "colored." Stinson was thirty-three years old when he was arrested. Stinson was noted as being able to read. During his incarceration, Stinson was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. Stinson escaped from the Western North Carolina Railroad on October 5, 1876, and was recaptured on October 15, 1876. He was discharged on May 27, 1878.