He was born at LeRoy, Illinois, and attended normal school at Normal, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Chicago, with an A. B. degree in 1901, and became principal of the Montevideo, Minnesota, high school before homesteading in Tripp County, South Dakota in 1912.
Born in LeRoy, Illinois, he studied at a normal school in Normal, Illinois. He earned an A.B. degree from the University of Chicago in 1901 and served as principal at Montevideo, Minnesota's high school before homesteading in Tripp County, South Dakota in 1912.