He grew up on a farm near China Grove and at age 21 was called to be a minister of the gospel. He attended Mt Pleasant College and then Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia. On 6 May 1876 was ordained by the Ministerium of North Carolina and immediately accepted a call from St John’s Lutheran Church near Mt Pleasant where pastored for 12 years. Then for 3 years he pastored the Lutheran Church in Murphysboro, Illinois. On 1 Jan 1890 he became the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Pawnee County, Nebraska, and on 12 Nov 1902 the pastor of the Lutheran church in Hardy, Nebraska, a position that continued until his death.