 He became the leading manufacturer of wool hats in the United States, and at his death his fortune amounted to several hundred thousand dollars.He was greatly interested in local progress and was a member of the board of education at Matteawan, and was at one time president of the village of Fishkill-on-the-Hudson.It was largely through his endeavors that Matteawan and Fishkill-on-the-Hudson secured new school buildings.