Born at Hainton, Lincs, he left school at 9 and after working on a farm was apprenticed to a wheelwright before entering the timber trade. He moved first to Market Rasen and then in 1875 to Lincoln, initially attending Hannah Memorial WM. He chose the site for St. Catherine's WM (opened in 1880) of which he was the founding father. He was first elected to the city council in 1879 and from 1899 was an alderman, serving three times as mayor.
His daughter Lena (or Lenora) Wallis JP (1868-1962) was a local preacher and class leader and for many years a Conference representative.