 He was judge of probate of Bay County, 1868–1872, a member of the constitutional commission of Michigan in 1873, and a member of the tax commission in 1881.He was a descendant of John Lothropp (also Lothrop or Lathrop, born Etton, Yorkshire, 1584; died 1653) was an English Anglican clergyman, who became a Congregationalist minister and emigrant to New England.He was the founder of Barnstable, Massachusetts.