John Upham was born in England, but his boyhood was spent in France. He emigrated to the US when he was 18, settled in Maine, and learned the trade of pump and blockmaster. A pump and blockmaker was a precision woodcarver, making two machines that ships needed to sail: the block-and-tackles that could lift heavy cargo or raise sails, and the pumps that kept water from building up below decks.
He left for California in 1851 and lived in Nevada for several years before making Silver City his home in 1868. For several years he and his partner W. H. Townsend were in the furniture and undertaking business. He died in 1895 at the age of 76 after a lingering illness.
