Born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 16, 1834, He was a graduate of Dartmouth College. He served as President of the Territorial University of Washington from 1863 to 1866 having previously served as President of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He was also a successful lumberman. He died on the steamship Magnolia while en route from China to Japan on July 11, 1910 at the age of 76.