On September 9, 1775, he was commissioned as colonel and commander of the
Orange County Regiment, North Carolina militia. He served as chairman of the Orange County Committee of Safety in 1776. He was also Justice of the Peace in 1777, county trustee (Treasurer) in 1778, and Senator in the
North Carolina General Assembly from Orange County in 1779. In 1792, he was one of several donors of 200 acres of land to insure siting of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1793, he contracted to make the bricks to build what is now called '
Old East,' the oldest purpose-built state university building in the nation. His name is among those of the land donors on a large marble tablet prominently displayed in Memorial Hall at the University. ==Move west and death==