[1] In 1842, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad between Albany and Schenectady, New York.
He laid out the course of the New York Central Railroad at Schenectady, to avoid the inclined plane at that terminus.
Subsequently, he became Assistant Engineer on the Erie Canal enlargement.
[2] On December 10, 1853, he was appointed New York State Engineer and Surveyor, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William J. McAlpine, after Wheeler H. Bristol declined to take office.
[1][2] He endowed the Henry Ramsay Scholarship at The Albany Academy.