There he studied law and he became an attorney, after which he moved to Indiana and settled in Brookville around 1808.

Once settled in Indiana he became a ferryboat operator, a judge and a member of the state's first constitutional convention, in 1816, as a delegate from Franklin County.

He was elected to the first session of the Indiana State House of Representatives in 1816.

He was reelected to two more terms and served from December 11, 1816, until his death in 1831.

He died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery.