Norvell found a pony in a neighboring field and caught him. Cone mounted him and they were once again on their way. Stopping at the White House, they asked one of the servants for a drink. Thus refreshed, they crossed the Potomac and proceeded out of the city for three miles. They were so exhausted that they fell asleep even before they had finished their meager meal, sleeping on the bag of clothes spread out on the floor. While the men slept, Amelia, Cone's wife, awoke and went out into the garden—in the distance she could see the burning White House and Capitol building. After the war, Norvell worked at various newspapers in several cities, including: the "Baltimore Patriot" 1815-17. Norvell stayed with the Patriot almost two years before abruptly moving back to Kentucky, possibly with the encouragement of Henry Clay, where he took over the state's oldest newspaper, the Lexington Kentucky Gazette in 1817. For nearly the next two years, he maintained Clay's support at home, which earned Norvell apparently no great pecuniary rewards. By early in that year, he was again applying for clerkships in Washington, and soon moved east to Philadelphia, where he became editor of an Anti-Federalist newspaper. By 1819, he joined the Franklin Gazette, which he published with Richard Bache Jr. the brother of Benjamin Franklin Bache, and grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Franklin Gazette, which supported Jefferson politically, was published in offices "at 180 the first door on the left hand side of Carpenter's lane, leading from the Post Office to the Bank of the United States." In June 1829, Norvell and John R. Walker co-founded the "Pennsylvania Inquirer", which was to become "The Philadelphia Inquirer", although they had to sell the paper in November to Jesper Harding. Norvell continued to work in newspapers when he was appointed to an office in the Treasury Department by his friend Alexander J. Dallas, who was secretary of the treasury for President James Madison. In 1831, Norvell moved to Michigan Territory after being appointed postmaster of Detroit by Andrew Jackson. Norvell was awarded the post because of his support of U.S. President Andrew Jackson, as were many other printers who had supported the Republican (democratic) party. He served as postmaster until 1836. The people in the Michigan Territory had approved a constitution and elected state officials in 1835, although it was not admitted as a state until 1837 because of a conflict known as the Toledo War with neighboring Ohio.