 He also served as president of St. John's Female Orphan Asylum, co-founded in 1843 by his father-in-law, Nicholas Devereux, and Devereux's brother John.It was staffed by the Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland, while the Christian Brothers, ran St. Vincent's orphanage for boys.He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Oneida County, 1st District) in 1861, and delegate to the 1867 New York Constitutional Convention.