From a young age until 1878 he worked as a coppersmith at Price's Candle Factory in Vauxhall.
[2] In 1854 he was a founding member of the Battersea and Wandsworth Co-operative Society, serving on the committee until 1860, then as the chairman until 1874, then as secretary until 1878.
[3][1] He served as the first president of the People's Co-operative Society.
From 1874 until his death he served as a director of the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
He died in Raynes Park, London, on 2 December 1896 and was survived by his wife and four of his children.