He was born in
Thetford, Vermont, on October 13, 1848. His father David served as a Vermont legislator and his mother Abigail was a descendant of the painter
Benjamin West. As a young adult, he was educated at
Thetford Academy before graduating and working as a clerk in a railroad office. Soon, he moved to
Boston, Massachusetts, and worked as an apprentice wood engraver with
Samuel Smith Kilburn. He studied drawing at the
Lowell Institute, then went on to work for ''
Harper's Magazine'' and various publishing houses in Boston. While in Boston, he shared a studio with painter
George Fuller. Seventeen of his paintings are in the American Art collection at the
Smithsonian Institution. ==References==