He moved to Western Reserve, Ashtabula County, Ohio in 1829, with his parents. When he was 20 years old he went to New Orleans. He next moved to the Hudson River for 5 years and was Superintendent of a boat line. He came to Minnesota in the spring of 1856. He moved to Jordan, Minnesota in 1870. He then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1889.
"Mr. Callender's politics are Democratic." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 32)
His funeral was held at Fifth Presbyterian Church. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.