US Congressman. He was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, of German parentage and he was educated in local common public schools and pursued an academic course. He then studied law with Christian Kribben, a well-known lawyer of the time and was admitted to the bar in 1858 and commenced to practicing in St. Louis, Missouri. During the Civil War, he saw military action with the Union Army but only for three months. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected. A Democrat, he then served Missouri's 1st District (Forty-Fourth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives, from 1875 to 1877. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Forty-Fifth Congress in 1878. After his term in the United States Congress expired on March 3, 1877, he was succeeded in office by United States Representative Anthony Friday Ittner. He also served as a Member of the St. Louis City Council from 1879 to 1883. He was also President of the St. Louis Bar Association, was a Member of the American Bar Association and a Member of the Missouri State Association. He then continued his law practice in St. Louis, Missouri, until his death. He was also very successful in the real estate business and he held several real estate holdings. He never married or had children. He suffered a stroke and was in ill health for about a year before his death. He passed away in St. Louis, Missouri, from the effects of arteriosclerosis and chronic myocarditis (or apoplexy) at the age of 80. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in the Hillcrest Abbey Crematory and Mausoleum in that city. He had practiced law for over sixty years and it was believed that at the time of his death in St. Louis, Missouri, he was the oldest practicing lawyer in that city.