Humphrey, a native of Hope, Ohio, attended Berea's Normal Department in 1867 and probably completed his studies in 1868 (no catalog exists for this year). Humphrey then studied a year in the College Preparatory Department, and in 1870 became a freshman in the Berea College Department. However, Humphrey left Berea in 1870.  While at Berea he was known as "Montie" (probably a contraction of his middle name, Beaumont) and was the College bell ringer.

From Berea, Humphrey went to New York where he attended Cornell University; his course of study and awarded degree (if any) are not known. However, in New York, he began his interest in politics—particularly in the Republican Party.  Humphrey was one of thirty-two charter members and a prominent member of the National Republican Club (N.R.C.).  He aided in the Club's Lincoln dinner series and, more importantly, he founded the nonpartisan "Saturday Discussions."

Humphrey cast his first vote for President Grant and was active in the Benjamin Harrison campaign. As evidenced by his papers, he maintained his interest in Republican politics from Theodore Roosevelt's campaign all the way past Calvin Coolidge's. In 1918, he ran for Congress in New York's twenty-first district, but was apparently unsuccessful.

Humphrey's other pursuits included the Columbia Salvage Company, of which he was president until 1923. He also became secretary of the Sulgrave Institute of the United States and a member of the board of directors for the China Society of America. His philanthropic activities extended from the China Famine Relief Commission to the American Peace and Arbitration League.

Humphrey was apparently involved in a diverse range of organizations, clubs, and associations whose causes tended to be philanthropic or political. For example, Humphrey's papers contain materials concerning the New England Suffrage League, the New York Prevention of Cruelty to Children Organization, the Coolidge Constitution League and the Allied Patriotic Societies.

In later materials, Humphrey is addressed as Col. Humphrey; however, no record of military service appears in his papers. Just as his date of birth is not known (c. 1850), neither is his date of death. However, it is known he was ninety-four years old in 1945 when he was a dignitary along with Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. at a N.R.C dinner.