He was born in Stonington, Connecticut, his family subsequently moving to New Jersey, where they ran a successful farm near Hopewell. He was elected to the New Jersey Assembly in 1761 and served there until its dissolution in 1771. He was appointed to the local Committee of Safety and the Committee of Correspondence, and became a judge on the Court of Common Pleas. He was elected to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1776 and was sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776.