Henry Hawkins was born around 1856 in North Carolina. Hawkins worked as a laborer and resided in Warren County, North Carolina. Hawkins was charged with larceny and receiving stolen goods on May 6, 1878, and sentenced to two years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Hawkins was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2684. In the descriptive register, Hawkins's race is noted as Black. Hawkins was twenty-two years old when he was arrested. Hawkins was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Hawkins was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on March 2, 1880.