Little is known about his early life, but he was raised as a Roman Catholic and graduated with a BA from
St John's College, Oxford. He emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, and married Mary Ann Toole on 31 October 1866. Fox was the Latin master at
John Lorenzo Young's
Adelaide Educational Institution from 1868 to 1871 or later. Fox was involved in various Catholic lay organizations. He served as honorary secretary of the committee to erect a memorial to Fr.
J. N. Hinteröcker SJ (c. 1820–1872), and succeeded
Benjamin Hoare as editor of ''
The Irish Harp and Farmers' Herald'' in January 1870. In the newspaper, he notably criticized
Bishop Sheil's excommunication of
Mary MacKillop. As a result, he was ousted from the South Australian Catholic Association, where he had served as both a founding member and president. He retired as editor around August 1875 to focus on an agency he was running at 71
King William Street, Adelaide. In 1883, he moved to Hobart, Tasmania, where he edited the
Tasmanian Mail. He left for New South Wales in June 1888. Fox purchased the
Northern Argus in
Narrabri, New South Wales, where he served as both proprietor and editor. On 29 August 1890, a fire destroyed the building, which was owned by a Mr. Spencer. All of its contents, including a steam engine, two presses, and good quality type, were owned by Fox. Despite rumors, an inquest found no evidence of arson. At the time, Fox had a pending court case in which he was being sued for libel. In May 1899, he was appointed editor of the
Cairns Argus. He remained in that position until February 1903, when he sprained his ankle in a fall and was hospitalized in
Townsville. He died there a week later. ==Family==