Background
Son of a Scottish father and an African mother, Grant was educated in the United States, where according to one story he was a schoolboy contemporary of Ulysses Grant, while he is also listed as his cousin.
Son of a Scottish father and an African mother, Grant was educated in the United States, where according to one story he was a schoolboy contemporary of Ulysses Grant, while he is also listed as his cousin.
He became a schoolteacher in England before becoming a merchant in Cape Coast. He was owner of the Gold Coast Times, a weekly newspaper. His surviving relatives include Hilda Prah(née Abban), David Prah-Annan, Sefa Gohoho of Songhai Africa and Canoe Africa Luxury Magazine, and Arthur Wharton, the 1st black professional football player.
He was chairman of the Cold Coast Native Concessions Purchasing Company, and from 1858 a member of the Cape Coast Town Council. He played a role as a founding member, Honorary Treasurer and Vice-President of the 1867-1874 Fante Confederation, and served as an extraordinary and unofficial member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council in 1863-1866, 1869, 1871, 1873 and 1887. A member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, he was a local preacher.