He went to sea at the age of 15 and joined the East India Company's maritime service in 1757.

He studied navigation and became a midshipman on the Company ship Winchelsea.

He sailed to India and China in 1758–1760 and was made third mate in the Hector and then captain of the Triton, making his final voyage for the Company in 1777.

He died at Enfield in 1834 and was buried in St Marylebone Parish Church near his London home.

His wife was heiress to her uncle John Fullerton of Carberry, to whose estate she succeeded in 1802.