He belonging to an old Sunderland family associated with Zion MNC chapel,. He went to sea at 13 and later became master of a trading ship. In the 1870s he became a partner with his brother-in-law John Wallace Taylor in a shipping business which was among the first to switch to steam power. He was also director or chairman of several local engineering and glass businesses. He served as a Liberal on the town council from 1888, was mayor in 1893 and 1894 and a River Wear Commissioner. With his wife, he was much involved in the building of Park Road MNC chapel (1886-87), to which he gave the organ. He was a trustee and circuit steward and in 1892 was appointed a Guardian Representative by the Conference. He was a staunch teetotaler.