 He was a son of John Caton and the sister of Dorothy Caton, who married William Woodville, grandparents of artist Richard Caton Woodville, himself the father of artist Richard Caton Woodville Jr.

Caton left England and settled in Baltimore in 1785 as a merchant involved in the manufacture of cotton goods.After his 1787 marriage, his father-in-law instructed him to develop area along the newly built Frederick Road, which Carroll owned land next to.He gave his name to the community and called it "Catonville", although the name was changed to "Catonsville" in the 1830s.