After graduation, he began to study law, but abandoned this pursuit to become a successful merchant.

[2] On the death of the first mayor, Samuel W. Bridgham, in February 1841, Burgess was elected his successor and re-elected annually until 1852.

He was mayor during the Dorr Rebellion (1841–42), a violent free-suffrage movement that promoted voting rights for all men regardless of property ownership.

This was a turbulent time when Rhode Island had two separate governors vying to run the state concurrently.

[2][3] Burgess enjoyed spending winters in Charleston, South Carolina, where he made many lifelong friends.