In 1852 he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and as a member of the board of visitors of his alma mater, the University of Virginia.
That same year, he was appointed to a commission to settle private land claims in his adopted state.
He was interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, but upon the dissolution of that cemetery (between 1939 and 1941) he was re-interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo County, California.
He was elected to Congress in 1886 from the 1st Congressional District, which then covered much of northern California, but was defeated for re-election in 1888.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress