[3] His father was a doctor and Baptist preacher at their home along the Tennessee River in the southwestern portion of the state.

[5] In 1853, he moved to the Oregon Territory with his parents, with the family settling in Benton County in the Willamette Valley.

[3] While attending college from 1857 to 1859, he met the daughter of the school president, Julia Hall Chandler, whom he later married.

[5] During his legal career he had partnerships with Richard Williams, Marion Francis Mulkey, George Hannibal Durham, H. Y. Thompson, and W. W. Thayer among others.

[3] After a time in Seattle he moved south to Oakland, California, where he continued to practice law.