He was influential in the early political development of the state[1] as a leader in Wisconsin's abolitionist and temperance movements, and as a co-founder of the Republican Party.

His general aptitude and business experience as a clerk led to a job in Buffalo as a bookkeeper in the shipping department of a wholesaler.

In 1838 he made a brief trip to the recently organized Territory of Wisconsin, returned home when he was disillusioned with the collapse of the real estate market (which had bubbled in 1836,[2]) and in 1840 settled in Milwaukee for good.

[12][13] In 1850 Holton was at the center of a fight over a law assigning to establishments selling liquor liability for harm caused by people who were intoxicated.

The outcome of the controversy had the unintended consequence that it strengthened the political position of the Democratic Party and weakened the Free-soilers allied with Holton.

He was defeated by Democrat William A. Barstow, but finished far ahead of Whig Party candidate Henry S. Baird.

Holton's abolitionist passions and his connections with the Milwaukee elite gave him strong support, but McIndoe's more rough-hewn personality resonated better with the frontier character of the state at the time.

[16][17] In 1862, President Lincoln appointed him allotment commissioner, overseeing a policy where 1/3 of each Union soldier's pay was sent directly to family back home for safekeeping, intended to prevent wasteful spending in camp.

In 1871 he agreed to a position with Northwest National Life Insurance, who needed help managing claims due to the Great Chicago Fire.

[18] In California, he visited Yosemite Park by horseback in early spring when snow clogged the trails and travel was difficult.