Career
As a Democrat, he was New York State Treasurer from 1882 to 1885, elected in 1881 and 1883. On December 28, 1885, he was appointed as Superintendent of Insurance by Governor David B. Hill to take office on January 1, 1886, and remained in this office until February 1891 when he was succeeded by James F. Pierce. In March 1893, he was appointed Fourth Assistant United States. Postmaster General by President Grover Cleveland, and served until the end of Cleveland"s administration in March 1897.
In 1896, he supported John M. Palmer of the National Democratic Party for President.