Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife shi 25 ga Mayu 1826 a Chegnieu-la-Balme (Register of Contrevoz), kuma ya gudu daga Calais zuwa London (ba da aikinsa a matsayin injiniya) a watan Satumba na 1854 a matsayin 'yan gudun hijirar siyasa bayan
Juyin juya halin Faransa na 1848. Ya yi hijira zuwa New South Wales Australia a ƙarshen 1854/farkon 1855 a matsayin wani ɓangare na binciken zinare na Faransa zuwa Bathurst. Daga nan sai ya koma Sydney a farkon 1856 inda ya yi aiki a matsayin ma'aikaci a Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney kafin a jawo shi zuwa Rockhampton ta hanyar Canoona zinariya rush. Yayin da yake zaune a Sydney ya sadu da Maria Isabella Berthold, Bajamushe mai ƙaura, kuma suna da ɗa, Auguste.