[2] He was named after neighbor and fellow Baptist church member, Ambrose Latting, who "was known for his more militant leanings, joining the 1789 protest against the Van Rensselaer claim and leading the insurgency against the Livingstons in 1798 with Benjamin Birdsall, Jr."[2] Jordan was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practiced law in Cooperstown, New York.

Senator from New York, but was defeated by the incumbent Silas Wright, Jr.[3] In 1845, Jordan was the leading counsel for the defense of some leaders of the Anti-Rent War, including Smith A. Boughton, at their trial for riot, conspiracy and robbery.

At the re-trial, in September 1845, the two leading counsels started a fist-fight in open court, and were both sentenced by the presiding judge, Justice John W. Edmonds, to "solitary confinement in the county jail for 24 hours."

Governor Silas Wright refused to accept Van Buren's resignation, and both counsels continued with the case after their release from jail.

[5] In 1846, Jordan was a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention, and in 1847, as the candidate of the Whigs and Anti-Renters, he was the first New York State Attorney General elected by popular ballot under the provisions of the new Constitution, succeeding his antagonist of the Anti-Renters' trials.