Gaston David Blalock was born on November 2, 1874, in Stanly County, North Carolina. Blalock was a farmer, sheriff of Stanly County for two terms, and was periodically supervisor of prison camps. In September 1919, Sheriff Blalock was dispatched to the Wiscassett Mills to disarm picketers. The confrontation turned into a shoot-out, with Blalock being wounded in the fray. He died in Albemarle, North Carolina on May 11, 1947.