He was born in Wiscasset, Massachusetts (now in Maine) on August 2, 1801.
He attended the common schools, then engaged in the lumber and shipping business there.
He was elected a member of the Maine Senate in 1847.
After retiring from Congress, he reengaged in the manufacture of lumber, and died in Brooklyn, New York on August 24, 1874.
His interment was in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.