Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, April 16, 1826, and was raised there till twenty-one years of age. He traveled more or less till December, 1851, when he came to this county. He married in the state of Ohio, December 11, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth Hastie, a native of Scotland. He represented this district in the Fifteenth General Assembly during the winters of 1874 and 1875; was one of the first board of county commissioners in 1862. He has held the office of township treasurer a number of times.