He graduated from the
Cincinnati Law College in 1851 and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in
Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved to
Mound City, Kansas, in 1861 and continued the practice of law.
Career He was a member of the State senate in 1863 and 1864 and served as a judge of the sixth judicial district 1867-1871. He moved to
Fort Scott in 1870 and was elected as a
Republican to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875). He was chairman of the
Committee on Mines and Mining (
Forty-third United States Congress) but declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1874.
After Congress He was appointed chief justice of
Utah Territory by President
Ulysses S. Grant in 1875. He returned to Kansas and settled in Fort Scott, Bourbon County, and was again elected judge of the sixth judicial district of Kansas in 1879 and served until his death in
Fort Scott, Kansas, April 10, 1882. == Legacy ==