 Prior to serving in Parliament, he had been Sheriff of London for 1834, where he lost the tip of his left index finger in a fight with a criminal.His father was Edward Raphael who was one of the founders of the Carniac Bank in Madras, India, which opened its doors in 1788.His legacy is St Raphael's Church in Surbiton, London, which he financed and had built as a family chapel.