Thomas Archibald Early was born on July 23, 1887, in North Carolina. Early was chief of police for the town of Badin, North Carolina, from April 1918 to October 1925. In 1919, he provided testimony in an investigation into the alleged abuse of laborers by the management of Tallassee Power Company. In 1957, he retired with more than forty-five years in law enforcement under his belt, including eight years as the jail inspector for the State Department of Public Welfare. He died in Mocksville, North Carolina on August 10, 1973.