Solomon Davis was born around 1861 in North Carolina. Davis worked as a laborer and resided in Franklin County, North Carolina. Davis was charged with larceny on October 7, 1878, and sentenced to ten years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Davis was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 2838. Davis's race is noted as Black. Davis was seventeen years old when he was arrested. Davis was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Davis was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He escaped on October 18, 1882, and was later recaptured. He was killed while attempting to escape on September 25, 1884.