Bishop was born in
Sidney, New York, and attended Unadilla Academy, Cooperstown Seminary and Walton Academy, all in
Upstate New York, after which he taught school for several years. During the
American Civil War, he enlisted as a
private in Company C, Forty-third Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, and was discharged in December 1862 because of a wound which necessitated the amputation of his right arm. He entered the
University of Michigan in September 1868 where he remained until December 1872. He studied law, was admitted to the
bar in
Ann Arbor in May 1875, and commenced practice in
Ludington, Michigan. ==Political career==