He was principal of a grammar school at North Germantown, New York and was employed in the finance bureau of the New York State Department of Public Instruction from 1898 to 1904. He was chief accountant of the municipal accounts bureau in the
New York State Comptroller's office from 1905 to 1915 and was deputy State tax commissioner from 1915 to 1921. He was deputy State commissioner of taxation and finance from 1921 to 1933, and engaged in the
accounting and
auditing business in 1933. Rockefeller was a delegate to the
1936 Republican National Convention. He was elected as a
Republican to the
75th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
Philip A. Goodwin. He ran on a platform of opposition to
Roosevelt's
New Deal. He was re-elected to the
76th and
77th United States Congresses, and held office from November 2, 1937 to January 3, 1943. While in Congress, he served on the
Territories, Immigration and Claims Committee. Afterwards he resumed his activities as an accountant and tax consultant in
Chatham, New York. ==Personal life==