Upon leaving the Senate, he conducted a lumber manufacturing business and served as editor of the "Wilmington Post." He also received federal offices from both Presidents Rutherford Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant, including serving as collector of the port of Wilmington, inspector of posts along the eastern line of the southern coast during the Rutherford B. Hayes Administration, and special agent of the United States Treasury Department. From August, 1869, he served as editor of the "Wilmington Post", a Republican organ of good quality for the era. However, he never again achieved any real status as a party leader. He established the town of Abbottsburg, North Carolina.