Gaston Faison was born around 1845 in North Carolina. Faison worked as a laborer and resided in Northampton County, North Carolina. Faison was charged with larceny on May 24, 1875, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Faison was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1271. In the descriptive register, Faison's race is noted as "colored." Faison was thirty years old when he was arrested. Faison was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Faison was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged from the railroad on April 4, 1877.