At the age of eighteen he entered the service of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. and worked in various capacities until he retired in 1892 to become superintendent of the South Side Rapid Transit Railroad of Chicago, Illinois.

He successfully contested as a Republican the election of Lawrence E. McGann to the Fifty-fourth Congress.

Word was immediately sent to Major Elijah W. Halford, Chief Paymaster, and his wife.

[citation needed] Belknap died the next day, November 12, 1901, from intestinal problems.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress