Olds soon became a professor at Miami University after he graduated. He resigned in 1840, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1842 in Circleville.[2] He practiced in that town until 1856, and represented the county in the Ohio House of Representatives for the 47th General Assembly, 1848–1849,[3] and the Ohio State Senate 1849–1850,[4] elected as a Whig.[5] In 1856, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, and ran for Ohio Attorney General in the 1862 election,[2] but lost.[6]
In 1865, Attorney General William P. Richardson resigned, and Olds was appointed by GovernorBrough[7] on February 20, 1865.[8] He was not nominated for the 1865 election.