Begole moved to Flint, Michigan in August 1836 and taught school in 1837 and 1838. In the spring of 1839, he married Harriet A. Miles. He engaged in agricultural pursuits from 1839 to 1856 and was school inspector, justice of the peace and township treasurer. Being an anti-slavery man, he became a member of the Republican party at its organization. He was county treasurer 1856–1864. He was briefly engaged in the lumber business in 1863. His eldest son was killed during the American Civil War near Atlanta, Georgia in 1864, and was the greatest sorrow of his life. He was a member of the Michigan Senate in 1870 and 1871, and a member of the Flint City Council for three years. During that time, he served on the Committees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1872 to re-nominate U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and to nominate Henry Wilson as the new Vice President. Begole was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 6th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives for the 43rd Congress, serving from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1875. During that time, he was a member of the Committee on Agricultural and Public Expenditures. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1874 and resumed the lumber business, Begole Fox & Co. He later engaged in the manufacture of wagons founding Flint Wagon Works and also engaged in banking.
Governor
In 1882, Begole was gubernatorial candidate of the Greenback and Democratic parties, defeating the Republican incumbent David Jerome by over 7,000 votes. He served one term from 1883 to 1885. As a former Republican who ousted a Republican incumbent, Begole faced many obstacles with a Republican-dominated legislature. As a result, the establishment of the state bureau of labor statistics was one of the few acts that was approved. He ran for re-election in 1884, but was defeated by Republican Russell Alger, after which he resumed his former business activities. He was an early activist for women's suffrage, and in 1884 Begole became vice president of the first statewide suffrage organization, the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association.
