[2] He read law in 1840,[1] first spending a year with his older brother, attorney Thomas R. Love, in Virginia, then in the office of Judge Richard Stillwell in Zanesville.

[1] He served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War from 1846 to 1848,[1] as a captain of the 3rd Ohio Regiment.

[1][3] Love received a recess appointment from President Franklin Pierce on October 5, 1855, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Iowa vacated by Judge John James Dyer.

[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 25, 1856, and received his commission on December 21, 1856.

[1] He was Chancellor of the University of Iowa College of Law from 1887 to 1890, serving between the tenures of Lewis Williams Ross and Emlin McClain.