[3] He studied law in the office of George W. Biddle and was admitted to the bar in November, 1857.

[4] He returned to private practice and was elected to succeed George M. Stroud as a judge of the Philadelphia District Court in 1871.

[7] He was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in November 1888 and assumed office as an associate justice in January 1889.

[5] He served as editor of The American Law Register from 1862 to 1887 and co-founded Weekly Notes of Cases in 1874.

He served as an overseer of Harvard University from 1905 to 1912[6] and was senior vice president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania from 1896 to 1915.