He served as member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Baltimore's 2nd district, from 1868 to 1872 and 1888 to 1892.
Colton lost his father at the age of thirteen and was apprenticed as a tailor though had an affinity to reading and was knowledgeable on English literature.
In the same year, he left and started to work at a state tobacco warehouse in Baltimore.
From 1860 to 1861, Colton worked as a purveyor at the almshouse but was removed due to his "rebel proclivities".
Colton served in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing district 2 (the nineteenth ward) of Baltimore, from 1868 to 1872.
[3] He served in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 2 (the ninth ward) of Baltimore, from 1888 to 1892.
[1][2] Colton was associated with the Gorman–Rasin political organization of Baltimore, run by Arthur Pue Gorman and Isaac Freeman Rasin.
On May 1, 1881, Colton became proprietor of the Baltimore Gazette and purchased the paper from William H. Welsh.
[1] Towards the end of his life, Colton owned a poultry farm in Jessup, Maryland, where he had a collection of fowls.