He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New York City.

He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Sixteenth Congress).

He served as president of the board of aldermen of New York City in 1832 and 1833.

Meigs was elected recording secretary of the American Institute of the City of New York in 1845, and retained this position in connection with the secretaryship of the Farmers' Club until his death.

His son, Henry Meigs Jr. was the first mayor of Bayonne, New Jersey, and the president of the New York Stock Exchange.