Born in Salem, Massachusetts; moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York; was a sailor in his youth; worked his way up to ship’s captain; captain of clipper ship N. B. Palmer in 1854; subsequently chosen commodore of American merchant ships in China by his fellow captains. (See Other Merchants and Sea Captains of Old Boston, 39–42; Low, Some Recollections by Captain Charles P. Low; GQC journal, Mar. 16, 1854.)