Samuel Fessenden (July 16, 1784 – March 13, 1869) was an American attorney,

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and politician. He served in both houses of the

Massachusetts state legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

before Maine became a separate state. He was elected as major general in the state militia. He was considered a leader among his professional peers.

Biography

Fessenden was born on July 16, 1784, in what now is

Fryeburg, Maine Fryeburg is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,369 at the 2020 census. Fryeburg is home to Fryeburg Academy, a semi-private preparatory school, and the International Musical Arts Institute. The town is also s ...

(until 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts). His father was the Rev. William Fessenden, who graduated from Harvard College in 1768 and became the first minister of Fryeburg and was active politically, being elected more than once to the

. His father also served as judge of

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

. Fessenden received his early education at

Fryeburg Academy Fryeburg Academy, founded in 1792, is one of the oldest private schools in the United States, located in Fryeburg, Maine. Among notable faculty, Daniel Webster was one of the first Heads of School, teaching at the school for a year. Boarding stu ...

in his hometown. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1806. He then studied law ("

read the law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

") with Judge Dana, of Fryeburg, and

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1809.

Career

Fessenden began his law practice at

New Gloucester New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker village in the U.S. The town's population was 5,676 at the 2020 census. New Gloucester is part ...

(then part of the state of Massachusetts). He became active in local politics. In 1815-16, Fessenden was elected and served a term as a representative in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. He then was elected to the

Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member sen ...

, serving 1818-19. Fessenden also joined the state militia. After leaving the senate, he was elected as major-general of the 12th division of the Massachusetts (later

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

)

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. Maine was separated from Massachusetts in 1820 and admitted to the Union as a separate state as part of the contentious

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

. In 1822, Fessenden moved with his family to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, which offered more opportunities. About 1828, he declined the presidency of

. Fessenden was an ardent Federalist and one of the early members of the anti-slavery party in Maine. In 1847 and

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

, he was a Liberty Party candidate for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and governor of Maine. He was an early supporter of the emerging

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

. For forty years Fessenden was considered the leader of the bar to which he belonged. He was an active philanthropist. He published two orations and a treatise on the institution, duties, and importance of juries. In 1846, he was awarded the honorary degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

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 ...

Family

Three of his sons followed Samuel Fessenden into politics:

William Pitt 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 ...

, who became U. S. Treasury Secretary, and two who were elected as U. S. congressmen,

Samuel C. Fessenden Samuel Clement Fessenden (March 7, 1815 – April 18, 1882) was an American abolitionist and United States Congressman from Maine. __NOTOC__ Early life and education Born in New Gloucester, Massachusetts (now in Maine), Samuel Fessenden gradua ...

, and

T. A. D. Fessenden Thomas Amory Deblois Fessenden (January 23, 1826 – September 28, 1868) was an American politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Maine. __NOTOC__ Biography Born in Portland, Maine, he attended North Yarmouth Academy and Dartmouth College ...

. His son, William Pitt Fessenden, was born on October 16, 1806 to Ruth Greene, who was not married to Samuel (who was a student at the time). William Pitt was raised by his paternal grandparents for seven years. Samuel Fessenden married Deborah Chandler in 1813, and they had several children. The family tree displayed below only shows the offspring of William Pitt Fessenden, however. Two of his grandsons through William became

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Francis Fessenden Francis Fessenden (March 18, 1839 – January 2, 1906) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Maine who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.Eicher, p. 234. He was a member of the powe ...

and

James D. Fessenden James Deering Fessenden (September 28, 1833 – November 18, 1882) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Maine who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Primarily a staff officer and ...

. A third grandson, Samuel Fessenden (January 6, 1841

- September 1, 1862

Centreville, Virginia Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 73,518 as of the 2020 census. Centreville is approximately west of Washington, D.C. History Colonia ...

), was mortally wounded at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

. He had been graduated from Bowdoin College in 1861. He also began to study law, but soon entered the military service as second lieutenant in the Second Maine Battery, November 30, 1861. He was promoted to first lieutenant on June 3, 1862 and became aide to Gen. Zebulon B. Tower in July 1862. He died in Portland on March 13, 1869. Samuel Fessenden's cousin,

Thomas Green Fessenden Thomas Green Fessenden (April 22, 1771 – November 11, 1837) was an American author and editor who worked in England and the United States. Biography Born and raised on the family farm in Walpole, New Hampshire as oldest of nine children, Fessen ...

, became a noted author and editor.

References

* *
Fessenden Collection, 1786–1982 (bulk 1823–1869)
Bowdoin College Library. This has short biographies of several of the Fessendens. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fessenden, Samuel Abolitionists from Maine Fessenden family American militia generals Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators 1784 births 1869 deaths Maine Republicans Massachusetts Federalists Maine Federalists Maine Libertyites Massachusetts Republicans People from New Gloucester, Maine People from Fryeburg, Maine