At seventeen years of age, he enrolled in the school of David Johnson of Beaver, Pennsylvania.
He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1796, and commenced practice in Washington, Pennsylvania.
He returned to Beaver in 1803 and continued the practice of law until 1822, when he was elected to Congress.
He served as prosecuting attorney of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, from 1803 to 1809.
[1] He resumed the practice of law until 1848, after which he discontinued active pursuits and lived in retirement until his death in Beaver in 1854.