US Congressman. He was admitted to the bar in 1882 and commenced law practice in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 1885 he was appointed a member of the State House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House in 1887. He was appointed collector of internal revenue for the fifth Kentucky district by President Cleveland in 1893 and served until 1897. He became a member of the State senate in 1905 and served until his resignation in 1906. In 1907, he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth and to the nine succeeding Congresses, serving until 1927. He declined to be a candidate for renomination and resumed the practice of law until his death.