The Rotherts opened a branch in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1858, and Henry moved west to manage it.
Rothert was reelected to the mayoralty the next year, and subsequently contested the 1873 Iowa Senate election.
Rothert was named register of the land office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and held the position for approximately four years.
In the same year that he had accepted the Wyoming post, Rothert contested the state senate seat he had once held.
Rothert resigned the position in August 1919, and remained in Council Bluffs, where he died on 29 January 1920.