 He then completed his course in law and settled in St. Louis.He practiced law there from 1854 to 1856, when he moved with his young brother, Thomas Jr., and brothers-in-law William T. Sherman and Hampden B. Denman to Leavenworth, Kansas, and began speculating in lands, roads, and government housing.They quickly established one of the leading law firms of Leavenworth, as well as a financially powerful land agency.