In 1830, he emigrated to the United States, and became a clerk in a tannery near Oneida Lake.
The couple removed to Ottawa, Illinois, and engaged in farming.
He entered politics as a Whig, then became an Abolitionist, and joined the Republican Party upon its foundation.
He was at times President of the Village of Cleveland; and Supervisor of the Town of Constantia.
He died at the home of his daughter Ellen (1838–1897) in Syracuse, and was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Oswego.