He was district attorney of Venango County from 1891 to 1893. He worked as city solicitor of Oil City from 1895 to 1906. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1897 and 1898.
He attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and the Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1887. He studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1889 and commenced practice in Oil City.