Born in Fabius, New York, Belden was the son of Royal Denison Belding and Olive Cadwell and attended the common schools.

[1] After completing his education in local schools, Belden worked in a Jefferson County store to learn bookkeeping and accounting.

Reelected to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses, Belden served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-fifth district of New York from November 8, 1887, to March 3, 1893.

Belden died of uremic poisoning in Syracuse, New York on January 1, 1904 (age 78 years, 93 days).

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