Josiah Small was born in Virginia in about 1729. A farmer in Chowan County, North Carolina, Small also owned enslaved people. In October 1782, Small's mother-in-law and brother-in-law stole one of Small's enslaved people, an African American man named Sal, from Small's home. No records regarding whether Sal ever returned to Small have been located. Small died in Chowan in about 1792.