[2] In 1838, he was a clerk in the Government Land Office; the next year he moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he gained admission to the bar in 1841.
After serving in a number of county offices, he accepted editorial charge of the Intelligencer, a newspaper in St. Louis in 1851, where he participated in the formation of the International Typographical Union.
[2] He moved to St. Charles, Missouri, in 1856, where he "purchased 200 acres of land, which he developed into the town of New Florence, which was named after his daughter".
[2] In September 1874, Governor Silas Woodson appointed Lewis to a seat on the state supreme court vacated by the death of Justice Washington Adams, serving on that tribunal for a few months.
[1][2] In 1888, physical infirmity and increasing deafness compelled his resignation from the bench, but his associates, in recognition of his long service, appointed him reporter of decisions.