Born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, he was the son of United Empire Loyalists from New York.
He returned to Prince Edward Island in 1804 with a printing press and was appointed King's Printer by the Lieutenant Governor, Edmund Fanning.
The newspaper business was unprofitable but better arrangements were made for government printing with Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, the new Lieutenant Governor.
However, the economics of the printing business in such a small center made him leave briefly for Nova Scotia where he had limited success with two newspapers.
Bagnall returned to Prince Edward Island in 1810 and, from that point onward, struggled to keep his printing business viable.