He was raised and educated in Albany, and, at age 16, he went to study law as a clerk in the office of Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham.

As a result, after his admission to the bar in 1843, his first job was as a bookkeeper for a large wholesale dry goods seller in New York City.

His business ventures brought him a significant income, and, about 1856, he decided he had accumulated sufficient wealth to being a legal practice without endangering his financial situation.

[1] In 1860, he achieved significant notoriety among the Wisconsin legal community, when he took on the defense of George P. Shelton, a black man accused of killing an Irishman.

He argued that Shelton had acted in self defense and won a stunning acquittal, earning commendation from the bar and firmly establishing his standing among Milwaukee's legal elite.