His father, Robert Temple (1694–1754), was a captain in the British army, and his mother was Mehitabel Nelson (1691–1775) of Boston.

In 1762, he was appointed lieutenant governor of the Province of New Hampshire and surveyor general of customs.

In 1785, he was appointed consul-general to the United States,[2] and remained in this post in New York City until his death (succeeded by Thomas Henry Barclay).

It is not recognised, for instance, by Cracroft's Peerage,[4] which considers the baronetcy to be dormant.

[10] He is also, through his daughter Elizabeth Bowdoin Temple an ancestor of US Politician John Kerry.