 He was High Sheriff of Hampshire in 1829 and Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth from 1816 to 1838.On 25 December 1816, he married Joanna Maria Smith (1792–1884), daughter of abolitionist William Smith.Joanna's sister Frances was the mother of Florence Nightingale, and her brother Benjamin was the father of Barbara Bodichon and Benjamin Leigh Smith.