 He attended the Bryan Institute in Lanier, Georgia, the South Georgia Military Academy in Thomasville, Georgia, and the University of Georgia in Athens; however, he did not graduate.He taught school in 1895, studied law, gained admittance to the state bar in 1897 and became a practicing attorney in Swainsboro, Georgia.He served as a second lieutenant in the Swainsboro Guards, Company C, of the Georgia National Guard from 1900 to 1904.