He was a member from Montgomery County of the New York State Assembly in 1800, 1804 and 1806.
He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1801.
During the War of 1812, he served in the State Militia as a Major, leading a battalion in the defense of Sackets Harbor, New York.
In 1817, the Town of Danube (in which area Herkimer's home was located) was created from a part of the Town of Minden, and the area transferred from Montgomery to Herkimer County.
He was buried at the General Herkimer Cemetery in Danube.