Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi Ulysses Mercur a Towanda, Pennsylvania. Ya sauke karatu daga Kwalejin Jefferson a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, a 1842. Ya yi karatun shari'a, an shigar da shi cikin lauya kuma ya fara aiki a Towanda a 1843. Ya kasance wakili ne ga
Taron Jam'iyyar Republican na shekara ta 1856. Ya kasance shugaban alƙali na gundumar shari'a na goma sha uku na Pennsylvania daga 1861 har zuwa Maris 4, 1865, lokacin da ya yi murabus don shiga Majalisar.