A prosperous hardware merchant in Sudbury, Ontario, he was the first president of the town's board of trade and later served as mayor of the town in 1897, 1898 and 1902 [REF] after winning a council seat in 1896.
Along with local businessman William McVittie, he subsequently invested in the Wahnapitae Power Company, which was contracted to provide the town's hydroelectricity services until it was sold to the Hydroelectric Power Commission of Ontario in 1929 [REF].