His mother died while he was still a boy, and, after living with his elder brother for several years, he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Claremont, New Hampshire, until he was an adult.

He was elected member of the Vermont House of Representatives, an office he held from 1794 to 1797; from 1799 to 1804; in 1807; and in 1808.

He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Thirteenth Congress and a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1822.

During his tenure, lotteries were abolished, and legislation was passed to require the examination of teachers.

[4] In the 1832 election for President, Vermont was carried by Anti-Masonic Party candidate William Wirt.