Judicial Career, Retirement, and Longevity
After his national service, he served as an associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1798 to 1808. Once he made up his mind, a change of mind was unlikely. According to Theophilus Parsons, "it was of great importance, that your Judge Wingate should form a correct opinion before he pronounces it—for after that, law, reason, and authority will be unavailing."
With the death of James Madison in 1836, Wingate drew some attention for surviving so long. Before he died at age 98 in 1838, Wingate was the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress and the last surviving member of the first United States Senate. For several years he had been the oldest graduate of Harvard. Wingate’s wife, Eunice, was the sister of United States Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, and she died in 1843, having passed the century mark. The Wingates are buried in the Stratham Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Paine Wingate
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