He was baptized on 30 May 1827 at Saint Leonards, Shoreditch, London, England.
In 1852 he came to British North America to become the managing director of the Great Western Railroad which was incorporated to build a line from Burlington Bay to Lake Huron.
Afterwards he became one of the Commissioners of the Intercolonial Railway which connected Montreal, Quebec, with Halifax, Nova Scotia.
From 1879 until his death he was a Land Commissioner for the Hudson's Bay Company in Winnipeg.
The town Mount Brydges, Ontario, is named in his honour.