Born near Woodstock, Ontario, he moved with his parents to Holt County, Nebraska and attended the public schools, worked on a farm, and engaged in the freighting business. He moved to Salt Lake City, and afterward to Park City, Utah; he was interested in mining and operated several mines, and served in the City Council of Park City in 1895. He was a member of the Utah constitutional convention of 1895 and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy in the term commencing March 4, 1899, caused by the failure of the Utah Legislature to elect, and served from January 23, 1901, to March 3, 1905. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1904, and resumed the mining business and resided in Salt Lake City, Utah, until his death in 1918. Interment was in Mount Calvary Cemetery.