Born in Kétegyháza (Chitighaz), a village that today lies in Békés County, Hungary, his father Petru was a notary there and in nearby Pusztaottlaka (Otlaca).
He was a life member of Asociația națională arădană pentru cultura poporului român, frequently sitting on its leadership.
[8] He was sentenced to a year and a half in prison and initially returned to Arad with his co-defendant Mihai Veliciu; the two received a hero's welcome.
In early August, once the sentence was upheld, they were arrested and led to the train station by local peasants, soldiers and intellectuals.
His health gradually declined until he died at Arad on 14 February 1898; the funeral served as an occasion for a patriotic demonstration by the hundreds of Romanians who attended.