[2] West's father was a large landowner and his mother sold "jonnycakes" during the American Revolution.

West eventually moved from North Kingstown to Scituate, Rhode Island, and purchased a 200-acre (0.81 km2) farm which Governor Stephen Hopkins had previously owned.

He was put in charge of raising troops in the Scituate in 1777 and served on various committees concerning the British blockade, army blankets, salt rationing and firearms.

[7][8] West was also several times chosen as the moderator of the town, as he was allegedly a man of "intelligence, and a marked degree of enterprise.

As Deputy Governor, West served on a committee which was integral to the formation of the state of Vermont.

West was also granted land in Vermont for his political services, which he sold in 1785 because of his financial concerns.

West led nearly 1,000 armed, rural citizens to Providence to protest an ox roast celebration and reading the Constitution on July 4, 1788 (shortly after the ninth state had ratified it).

Although West had been a prosperous farmer before the war, the depreciation in value of continental currency ruined him financially.

"[6] He was the great-grandfather of Major General Thomas West Sherman, a career Army officer who distinguished himself during the American Civil War.