He also served as colonel of the 74th Ohio Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, receiving a brevet to brigadier general.
Given was born in Murrysville, Pennsylvania on August 31, 1828 of John and Jane Clendenning Given, who had immigrated from Ireland.
[2] At the end of the war he returned to Ohio to study law in the office of his older brother William, and was admitted to the bar in Stark County, Ohio in 1850.
He served as District Attorney in Polk County and various judicial positions including circuit judge, district judge, and justice of the Iowa Supreme Court.
[1][2] He died in Des Moines on February 3, 1908[1] and was buried in Woodland Cemetery.