Isaac was born in 1816,[4] married Elizabeth Wood on 28 January 1838[5] and was recorded as a bankrupt[6] builder and decorator at 37 Fish Street Hill, London in 1856.

[11] He emigrated to Wairoa in 1858[12] and by 1859 he was selling a farm near Ōtāhuhu[13] and a J R Vialou ('J' was often used for his first initial, even including his probate)[14] was advertising as an architect at Smale's Point.

[16] An 1863 advert for his Sanitary Depot in Victoria Street was for ‘‘importers of stone, cement and building materials, manufacturers of bricks pipes etc, stockists of closets, lavatories, hand basins etc’’.

[20] He also took on the Greyhound Hotel in 1867,[21] but transferred it to I Vialou later that year[22] and then, largely due to the recession, went bankrupt,[23] though his family still owned property.

[25] Isaac's fortunes must have improved quickly, for he sold a Panmure hotel in 1872[26] and was architect for Alfred Cox, to build the now listed, Lake House,[27] at Hamilton the same year.

[40] During the ceremony marking the end of his term as mayor, he started driving the first pile of the Union Bridge.

[1] Isaac became ill and returned to Auckland,[12] before moving to Ohinemutu in 1884,[51] to manage Lake House Hotel.