Sarah was the daughter of Andrew Sinnickson, and her brother Thomas represented New Jersey in the first U.S. Congress.
When the 2nd New Jersey Regiment joined the Continental Army and was assigned to cover the withdrawal after the failed invasion of Canada, he accompanied them north as a surgeon in 1776.
Later that year he was appointed a colonel, commanding the western battalion of the Salem County militia.
In 1787, he was a delegate to the New Jersey convention that ratified the United States Constitution.
He was a candidate in the 1792 United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey, in which the top 4 won; he finished 10th.