Later Life
Returning home to New Hampshire, he was named the state's attorney general in 1782 and served until 1786. During this same time he was elected to the state assembly, and served as speaker of the house. He led the drive in New Hampshire that led to ratification of the United States Constitution on June 21, 1788. He was elected President of New Hampshire (now Governor) in 1786, 1787 and 1789.
When the new federal government was created, President George Washington nominated him on September 24, 1789, to be the first federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, created by 1 Stat. 73. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 26, 1789, and received his commission the same day. Although his health prevented his sitting on the bench after 1792, he held the post until he died on January 23, 1795, aged 54, at his home in Durham. He was interred in the family cemetery there.
He was first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire and had been a member of St. John's Lodge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire since 1767.
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