He lived first in Waukesha, then called Prairieville, where he operated a dry goods store for some years.
He was living in Brookfield Center when he was elected to the Assembly for a one-year term in 1854 as a Whig, succeeding Free Soiler Elisha Pearl.
In 1858 he was invited to Madison to take a position as bank clerk in the office of Samuel D. Hastings, then Wisconsin State Treasurer and a fellow temperance advocate.
He was soon promoted to Assistant State Treasurer, a job he would hold for about ten years under Hastings and his successor William E. Smith (both Republicans).
After retiring from the Treasurer's office, Purple moved to Watertown and went into the lumber trade, in which he was doing well until the Panic of 1873.