Johan Hampus was schooled at home until 1836 when he joined the Navy (1st Finnish Sea Battalion 1:a finska sjöekipaget).

In 1850, Furuhjelm was detached to the new post in the Russian-American Company and sailed from Kronstadt to Novoarkhangel'sk (New Archangel, as the Russian community in Sitka was called) on board of the ship Nikolai I.

In Novo Archangelsk, Furuhjelm was forced to acknowledge that one of the most acute needs was rebuilding the Indians' trust in the white man.

According to a contract which had been signed, Russian America had to deliver a certain amount of ice to San Francisco at a fixed price.

The oldest daughter Annie Furuhjelm later became one of the foremost figures within the international women's movement and a member of Finland's Parliament.

On 17 March 1864 Johan Hampus Furuhjelm turned over his duties to prince Dmitri Petrovich Maksutov, who happened to be the last governor of Russian America.

On 25 February 1871 he was appointed chief of Russian seaports in the Pacific, where he contributed a lot to development of Vladivostok and Primorsky Krai, opened the Amur Telegraph Company, several lighthouses and ship dockyards.

In 1889, on the occasion of his jubilee as an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, he received a golden snuffbox, decorated with diamonds and the initials of Alexander III of Russia.