Born in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of April, 1834. He received an academic education, removed to Iowa, locating in Clayton County, where he was appointed clerk of the District Court in 1856, holding the position for four years. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and entered upon the practice of his profession at McGregor in 1861. In 1877 he was elected on the Republican ticket Representative in the House of the Seventeenth General Assembly, serving one term. In 1878 he was nominated for Representative in Congress in the Fourth District and elected. In 1880 he was reelected, serving four years. In 1882 he was again the candidate of the Republican party but was defeated by L. H. Weller, fusion candidate. In 1892 Mr. Updegraff was again elected to Congress and reelected in 1894 and 1896.