Miles Williams was born around 1856 in North Carolina. Williams was a farmer who resided in Anson County, North Carolina. Williams was charged with larceny and receiving stolen goods on April 22, 1878, and sentenced to three years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Williams was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2677. Williams's race is noted as "colored."  Williams was twenty-two years old when he was arrested. Williams was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Williams was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on January 18, 1881.