[5] He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, followed by St John's College, Cambridge, from which he graduated in 1842.
[3][7] He held the posts between 1851 and 1865, at which point he began a brief academic role at Queens' College.
His father's death in 1855 forced his return to Scotland,[8][4] He later became a linen bleacher at J. Pullar and Sons in Tulloch.
[8] He was elected to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1851, and remained a member for 42 years.
[9] After returning to Scotland in 1855, he lived with his widowed mother, then with his brother Hector and sister Agnes at Garry Cottage on the Dundee Road in Barnhill.