He engaged in the Lake Superior region as explorer for the Montreal Mining Co. in 1846 and was assistant clerk of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1853.

He studied law and admitted to the bar in 1854, practicing in the Lake Superior region.

In 1866, he ran as the Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Michigan's 1st congressional district, losing in the general election to Republican incumbent Fernando C.

Chipman died of pneumonia in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, on August 17, 1893 (age 63 years, 73 days).

[4] Chipman married Elizabeth Sha-wa-na, a woman of American Indian descent, and they had two children, Henry and Charlotte.