He studied civil engineering and law and was admitted to the bar in 1844 and practiced in Canandaigua, New York.

He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1876 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against ex-U.S. Secretary of War William W. Belknap.

He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate on July 22, 1881, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Roscoe Conkling and served to March 4, 1885.

His cousins include Nathan Lapham, Christopher Lloyd and Susan B. Anthony.

On July 2, 1844, in Clifton Springs, New York, he married Jane Frances McBride (1825–1907).