 He graduate from Union College, New York, in 1826, and then studied Theology at Yale and Andover Theological Seminary.He received his licence to preach in 1828, one year after marrying Lucy Mills.After being ordained in 1831, he became an agent of the American Home Missionary Society in 1833, and settled in Florida, where he taught, among other places, at St. Augustine High School there, and among the local African-American community.