White was born in Orange County, New York. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady in 1822, after which he studied law; he entered practice as a lawyer in 1825. After a time he moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where he worked as the assistant clerk of the Indiana House of Represenatives from 1831-32, moving up to the full clerkship in 1832-35. He also ran for the House in 1832, but was defeated.

1836 proved a more successful year for White; he served as a presidential elector on the Whig ticket, and was himself elected as a Whig to the 25th Congress (March 4, 1837-March 3, 1839). After a single term in the House, White ran for the Senate in the 1838 election.

White won election to the Senate, where he served as chairman of two committees: the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses, and the Committee on Indian Affairs. White declined to stand for reelection.

After leaving the Senate, he returned to Indiana, moving to the town of Stockwell, where he once again took up law, and also served as the president of several railroads. In the 1860 election, he re-entered politics, running as a Republican for the House.

White was elected to the House again, serving from March 4, 1861-March 3, 1863. He was a member of the select committee on emancipation. After his first term, he again did not run for reelection. After leaving the House, President Abraham Lincoln named him a member of a commission that would judge claims against the government from citizens for not protecting them from Indian attacks. After his service there, he was made a judge on the U.S. District Court for Indiana. He served in this capacity until his death in Stockwell in 1864, when he was interred in Greenbush Cemetery in Lafayette.