During the Civil War, he served as a private in the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery Regiment from 1862 to 1865.
Afterwards, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1869, commencing practice in Knoxville, Iowa.
[1] In September 1890, less than two months before the general election, Republican U.S. Representative Edwin H. Conger resigned his Congressional seat representing Iowa's 7th congressional district to accept President Benjamin Harrison's appointment as United States Ambassador to Brazil.
After winning the election on November 4, 1890 by 2,560 votes,[3] he served in a second session that began in December 1890 and ended on March 3, 1891.
Returning from Washington, he resumed practicing law until his death in Knoxville, on February 28, 1896.