He was an early settler at Platteville, Wisconsin, and represented Grant County in the Wisconsin State Senate (1858–1862), State Assembly (1848, 1855), and the Territorial Assembly (prior to statehood).
Virgin was born on December 6, 1812, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
They had eight children, including Horatio Hyatt Virgin (1840–1913), who became a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Originally a member of the Whig Party, Virgin was a Republican from 1854 until the re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
In 1866, he was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district.