Born in London, England, in 1826. He emigrated to America when twenty-one and for some time taught school in Vermont. He lived for a time in Virginia but his outspoken opposition to slavery aroused enmity which rendered it prudent for him to remove to a free State. He came to Iowa in 1853, studied law and began practice in Clarksville, Butler County. In 1857 he was elected to the House of the Seventh General Assembly on the Republican ticket, serving one term. When the Civil War began he raised a company for the Third Infantry and was appointed captain. In 1862 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. In the fall of 1863 he was appointed colonel of the Ninth Cavalry and at the close of the war attained the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant Collector of Internal Revenue which position he held for twelve years. He then removed to Chicago where most of his time was given to literary work. His book on "Free Trade in England" was a standard authority on that subject. He was an able writer on sociology, theology and reform topics. He contributed regularly to the Open Court, the Forum, the Monist and other periodicals and magazines. He died in Chicago May 9, 1894.