He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841.
Career
Following the completion of his legal studies, Montgomery opened a private law practice in Washington County. Appointed as district attorney in 1845, he became an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives in 1854.
Montgomery was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses, however, but was not a candidate for renomination in 1860.
He then served as was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention and resumed the practice of law. Six years later, he ran again for Congress, but was also unsuccessful in that 1866 election.
Death and interment
Montgomery died in Washington County, Pennsylvania on April 28, 1870, and was interred in the Washington Cemetery.