[1] After the death of his father, Colt decided to move west in 1789 and in Albany, New York, joined Oliver Phelps heading for the Genesee Lands.

In Canandaigua, Colt worked as a surveyor, merchant, and farmer and commonly returned to Lyme, Connecticut during the winter.

[1] In 1796, he attempted to buy thousands of acres of land from the Pennsylvania Population Company, but they declined, hiring him instead to replace Thomas Rees, Jr. as their agent.

He joined the Presbyterian church in Erie that formed in September 1815, attending worship services in the old court house and soon becoming an elder.

He built a frame building on Sassafras Street, known locally as the "yellow meeting house", which became the first regular place of worship in Erie.