Alfred Norman Proctor was born on November 30, 1822, in Marlborough, Massachusetts, to Nicholson and Lucy Proctor. His father was a veteran of the War of 1812 who ran a general store. He grew up and attended school in Marlborough, and his mother died in 1838. He eventually moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and he worked as a clerk. Then, in the 1840s, he worked as a machinist at the Charlestown Navy Yard.
He served in the Mexican American War. According to an early biographer, he “reached Camargo on the Rio Grande in June 1847, but was shortly afterward stricken with fever.” Army officials sent him to Pensacola, Florida, to recover. He remained there until 1848, and he later took part in the California Gold Rush. He returned to Boston around 1851, and he worked in the photography industry. He married Hattie Boynton around 1860, and their son James was born around 1862.
In September 1862, he received a commission as a captain in Company G of the 42nd Massachusetts Infantry. Confederate forces captured him in Galveston, Texas, on January 1, 1863, and he remained imprisoned in Texas until July 22, 1864. He mustered out on August 10, 1864.
He returned to Boston after leaving the army, and he resumed his work in the photography industry. His wife died in November 1879. He applied for a federal pension in January 1884 and eventually received one. He retired in 1890. He supported the Republican Party, and he served on the Boston City Council. He died in Boston on January 22, 1901.