Born on June 8, 1786, in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts,[1] Betts graduated from Lenox Academy in 1803, and was the first from that institution to attended college.

[2] He graduated from Williams College in1806 and studied law with Thomas P. Grosvenor in Hudson, New York.

[1] He served in the United States Army from 1812 to 1814[1] appointed as a judge advocate of volunteers during the War of 1812.

[3] He was a division judge advocate, General Court Martial, for the New York State Detached Militia starting in 1814.

[1] Together with Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story and Judge Peleg Sprague on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Betts oversaw, untangled and interpreted the British legacy of admiralty and maritime law in adherence to the American Constitution.