Paine Wingate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Hampshire | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Livermore |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire'sat-large district (Seat 4) | |
| In office March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Abiel Foster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1739-05-14)May 14, 1739 |
| Died | March 7, 1838(1838-03-07) (aged 98) |
| Resting place | Stratham Cemetery |
| Party | Federalist[1] |
| Residence | Stratham |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
Paine Wingate (May 14, 1739 – March 7, 1838) was an American preacher, farmer, and statesman fromStratham, New Hampshire. He servedNew Hampshire in theContinental Congress and both theUnited States Senate andHouse of Representatives.[2]
Wingate was born the sixth of twelve children, inAmesbury,Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1739.[3] His father (also Paine) was a minister there. He graduated fromHarvard College in 1759.
Wingate was ordained aminister of theCongregational Church in 1763. He became a pastor inHampton Falls, New Hampshire.[4] In 1776, Wingate gave up his ministry and moved to Stratham, where he took up farming.
Wingate was elected to several terms in theNew Hampshire House of Representatives, and was a delegate to their state constitutional convention in 1781.
In 1788, he served as a delegate to theContinental Congress. Despite his own background as a preacher, Wingate successfully proposed that the salaries for the two chaplains of the Continental Congress be cut by 25% probably due at least partly to the Confederation's untenable financial problems.[5] Wingate was a strong advocate for ratification of theUnited States Constitution, writing as follows in March 1788:[6]
[T]hose who are well-wishers to their country, and best know the situation we are in, are most sensible of the necessity of its adoption, and great pains are taken to obtain the end.
New Hampshire appointed him to the firstUnited States Senate, in which he served from 4 March 1789 until 3 March 1793. He was then elected to theUnited States House of Representatives, where he served from 4 March 1793 to 3 March 1795.
Between 1789 and 1794, the U.S. Senate's deliberations were conducted in secret, which Wingate supported: "How would all the little domestic transactions of even the best regulated family appear if exposed to the world; and may not this apply to a larger body?" He believed that secrecy promoted respect for the Senate: "to be a little more out of view would conduce to its respectability in the opinion of the country."[7]
While in the Senate, Wingate served on the committee that drafted theJudiciary Act of 1789, which set up the federal court system. He was disappointed that the bill "will not extend to a tenth part of the causes which might by the Constitution have come into the federal court". The remaining nine-tenths of cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States were left for the state courts to decide.[8] Wingate voted against the bill, but it passed.[9]
After his national service, Wingate succeededDaniel Newcomb as an associate justice of theNew Hampshire Supreme Court, serving from 1798 to 1808. Once he made up his mind, a change of mind was unlikely. According toTheophilus 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."[10]
With the death ofJames Madison in 1836, Wingate drew some attention for surviving so long.[11] Before he died at age 98 in 1838, Wingate was one of two surviving delegates to the Continental Congress (along withJohn Armstrong Jr.), and the last surviving member of thefirst United States Congress. For several years he had been the oldest graduate of Harvard. Wingate's wife, Eunice, was the sister of United States Secretary of StateTimothy Pickering, and she died in 1843, having passed the century mark.[12] The Wingates are buried in the Stratham Cemetery.[13]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seat established | Member of theHouse of Representatives fromNew Hampshire's at-large (Seat 4) congressional district 1793–1795 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by None | U.S. senator (Class 2) from New Hampshire 1789–1793 Served alongside:John Langdon | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by tied with 1st Senate | Most senior living U.S. senator (Sitting or former) November 14, 1832 – March 7, 1838 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oldest living U.S. senator November 14, 1832 – March 7, 1838 | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
