Born near Nashville, Tennessee on March 17, 1798, he went to Center College in Danville, Kentucky. He moved to Louisiana and became a planter and was also interested in the newspaper business. He ran for Governor of the state, unsuccessfully, in 1834. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. He was elected as a Democrat representing the Second District to the 27th and representing the 3rd District in the 28th Congress, and served from March 4, 1841, until his death on June 26, 1845. He defeated James M. Elam (Whig) in the election of 1843. He served as Major General in the State militia, Judge of the Parish Court in West Feliciana Parish, and was Postmaster at New Orleans from April 10, 1843 until December 19, 1843. His remains were interred in Grace Episcopal Churchyard in St. Francisville, Louisiana.