He was the son of Solomon Dow (died 1822) and Phebe Dow. The family removed to Hartland, Vermont, in 1811; and to a farm about nine miles from Batavia, New York in 1816. He attended the common schools, and then became a store clerk. In 1827, he removed to Panama, and the next year to Silver Creek where he ran first a shoe and leather shop, then a hardware store. On October 4, 1829, he married Freelove Mason (1806–1847), and they had five children.
In 1845, he removed to Randolph, and ran there a dry-goods store and a hardware store. On April 23, 1850, he married Lydia Ann Mason (1814–1891), a sister of his first wife, and they had a son. From 1860 on, he engaged in banking, and from 1881 to 1890 was President of the First National Bank of Salamanca.
