Bolton father was an Anglican minister. The family first came to New York in 1821 for a stay of two years; they returned in 1836, and settled in Pelham, New York.
Bolton was noted as a student of Samuel F. B. Morse at New York University when he enrolled in the Academy school in 1839. He first exhibited in an Academy annual exhibition the next spring. Bolton was again enrolled in the school for the 1840-41 season, following which his Canonicus and the Governor of Plymouth was shown in the Annual Exhibition, and was awarded second prize in the Academy's sole attempt at a competition to promote historical painting. The honor was of doubtful value as only two works were accepted for the competition. (For a full discussion of this competition see below: Albertus Del Orient Browere.)
Bolton continued to be represented in Academy annuals through that of 1847, and no exhibition of his work is known in any other context. His choice of subjects was varied: religious, landscape, and hunting dogs. During the latter half of the 1840s Bolton became increasingly involved with designing stained glass and designed works for Christ Church and the Priory in Pelham, and for the Church of the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn.
Around 1848 Bolton returned to England where he opened a stained glass studio in Cambridge. In 1849 he enrolled in Caius College and in 1854 he was ordained in the Anglican ministry. The last thirty years of his life were devoted to service as a vicar first in London and later in Bath.