[2] He attended Yale University, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in New York City.

In 1811, he was elected Speaker on January 29, but could not attend the session after February 10 because of ill health.

In 1821, he ran for re-election as a Clintonian, but was defeated by Bucktail Martin Van Buren.

In this stint in the Senate, he generally aligned himself with President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay.

[3] Together, they were the parents of two children: After his second wife's death, he remarried for a third time to Mary Buchanan (1800–1879), whom he married in May 1828.