He moved to Orange County, New York, in 1861, and served as member and treasurer of the Democratic State central committee from 1877 to 1879.

He was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress for the fifteenth district and served from March 4, 1885, until his death on August 10, 1886.

[2] He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings during the Forty-ninth Congress.

[3] Beach died, from typhoid fever and Bright's disease, at his home, "Knoll View" in Cornwall, Orange County, New York, on August 10, 1886 (age 51 years, 133 days).

[7] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress