The family removed to a farm near Mayville, New York in 1829.
He attended the public schools and graduated from Mayville Academy in 1836.
Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1841, and practiced in Jamestown.
He was a member of the New York State Senate (32nd D.) in 1868 and 1869.
He was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredonia.