Served on the Iowa Supreme Court from October 1, 1925, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Justice Thomas Arthur, until his death October 15, 1932. For one year he was Chief Justice.
Born at Boonville, Oneida County, New York, April 21, 1864, he was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1886. In 1887 he came west to accept a position in legal editorial work at St. Paul, Minnesota. Two years later he moved to Iowa locating at Emmetsburg to engage in the private practice of law. From 1899 to 1902 he served as County Attorney but for the next twenty years or more he accepted no public office until coming on the Supreme Court. He was prominent in church work and was a trustee of Morningside College.