Nicholas Fessenden (November 23, 1847 – December 18, 1927) was a US attorney and politician who served from 1891 to 1896 as

Secretary of State of Maine The secretary of state of Maine is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The Secretary of State performs duties of both a legislative branch as well as an executive branch off ...

Life

Nicholas Fessenden was born in Saco, Maine, the son of Hewett Chandler Fessenden (1819–1885) and Mary Turner Peterson (1820–1912). He came from an influential family. His uncle was member of Congress and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

William P. Fessenden William Pitt Fessenden (October 16, 1806September 8, 1869) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. Fessenden was a Whig (later a Republican) and member of the Fessenden political family. He served in the United States House o ...

. Fessenden studied at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

and graduated from there in 1868. He interned at the law firm of John H. French and was admitted as a lawyer in 1868. He was a judge for several years at the

Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. Kn ...

court. As a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, he was from 1891 to 1896

. Fessenden served in Fort Fairfield for several years as "Selectmen and overseers of poor",Annual Report of the Town Officers Of Fort Fairfield, Maine, February 19, 1921
retrieved on May 15, 2016 and also as town clerk. Fessenden was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and belonged to the Odd Fellows He married Laura Emily Sterling (1852–1935). The couple had two sons.

Stirling Fessenden Stirling Fessenden (29 September 1875 – 1 February 1944), an American lawyer who practised in Shanghai, was the chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council from 1923 to 1929 and then Secretary-General of the Council from 1929 to 1939. Early lif ...

who was also a lawyer and later chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council and Reverend Thomas Whittemore Fessenden. Nicholas Fessenden died on December 18, 1927 in Fort Fairfield, Maine and was buried there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fessenden, Nicholas 1847 births 1927 deaths Fessenden family People from Fort Fairfield, Maine People from Aroostook County, Maine Maine Republicans Secretaries of State of Maine