His father and grandfather were both members of the Kent Co. Delaware Committee of Observation and Inspection during the American Revolution.
During the War of 1812, he held the rank of colonel and was in charge of the hospital that treated the wounded from the Battle of Lake Erie.
His grandson Peter Graham "Bud" Black was the head of a faction of the Ohio Republican Party until 1948.
Following his service in the War of 1812 (while the conflict was still ongoing), he was appointed Marshall of Ohio on December 30, 1813, under President Madison.
His first task was to march the prisoners taken during the Battle of Lake Erie to Camp Bull (near Chillicothe, Ohio).
In 1815, he and his father-in-law, General Isaac Van Horne, founded the White Glass Company of Zanesville, Ohio.