Darry Woods was born around 1864 in South Carolina. Woods worked as a laborer and resided in Columbus County, North Carolina. Woods was charged with larceny on March 11, 1878, and sentenced to seven years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Woods was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2591. In the descriptive register, Woods's race is noted as Black. Woods was fourteen years old when he was arrested. Woods was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Woods was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. Woods escaped on December 9, 1881, and was recaptured on December 11, 1881. He escaped again on May 20, 1882, and there is no record of his recapture thereafter.