After the resignation of James G. Jones, Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed Usher to the office of Indiana Attorney General.

Then-secretary Caleb Blood Smith had little interest in the job, and, with declining health, soon delegated most of his responsibilities to Usher.

Usher became general solicitor for the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, and was active in promoting the construction of the railroad west from Kansas City.

His house still stands at 1425 Tennessee Street and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

[4] It has been the home of the Alpha Nu chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the University of Kansas since 1912.