James Horton was born around 1855 in North Carolina. Horton was a striker who resided in Union County, North Carolina. Horton was charged with larceny on April 8, 1878, and sentenced to two and a half years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Horton was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2658. In the descriptive register, Horton's race is noted as white. Horton was twenty-three years old when he was arrested. Horton was noted as being able to read. During his incarceration, Horton was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He was discharged on July 23, 1880.