What is the size of the image? It's probably an daguerreotype, but could be a cabinet photo put in a fancy frame. Cabinet photos are larger than CDV (carte de visite) and on heavier stock. Daguerreotypes are the oldest, then CDV, then cabinet photos. The bow tie might help date it.
As far as finding the actual person, that's a real long shot. He's at least in his 30's. If you have some guesses, and can find the guesses in other photos, then you can do a compare. But pictures are rare for this time period, I'd say it could be 1850's and he likely died before 1900. This may be the only picture he ever had taken.
If it's a daguerreotype, those weren't real common, and a simple farmer or laborer probably wouldn't have money to spend on it. Also his fingers look clean and not gnarled. He could have gotten all spiffy for the photo, but also another clue he probably wasn't a manual laborer. He does have color in his cheeks though, probably had a bit of a tan, although forehead and such likely protected by the wide brim of a hat. That's my two cents, FWIW.
