Sampson Nelson was born around 1850 in North Carolina. Nelson was a farmer who resided in Tyrell County, North Carolina. Nelson was charged with larceny on April 8, 1878, and sentenced to one year in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Nelson was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2648 In the descriptive register, Nelson's race is noted as Black. Nelson was twenty-eight years old when he was arrested. Nelson was noted as being able to read. During his incarceration, Nelson was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on March 9, 1879.