Thomas Green Fessenden (April 22, 1771 – November 11, 1837) was an American author and editor who worked in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Biography

Born and raised on the family farm in

Walpole, New Hampshire Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. The town's central village, where 573 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place (CDP) and ...

as oldest of nine children, Fessenden 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 1796. During his college term wrote a ballad, entitled "Jonathan's Courtship", which was reprinted in England. He studied law in Vermont with Nathaniel Chipman, occupying his leisure in writing humorous poems and other papers for the ''Farmer's Weekly Museum'' of Walpole, of which

Joseph Dennie Joseph Dennie (August 30, 1768January 7, 1812) was an American author and journalist who was one of the foremost men of letters of the Federalist Era. A Federalist, Dennie is best remembered for his series of essays entitled ''The Lay Preache ...

was then editor. He went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1801 as agent for a new hydraulic machine. The enterprise proved a failure and involved him in pecuniary difficulties. While in London, he became interested in the construction of a patent mill on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, and in this enterprise also he was completely ruined. At this time, he formed the acquaintance of Benjamin Douglas Perkins, patentee of the metallic tractors (see

Elisha Perkins Elisha Perkins (January 16, 1741September 6, 1799) was a United States physician who created a fraudulent medical device, the Perkins Patent Tractors. Although they were made of steel and brass, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual meta ...

) which Fessenden advertised in a poem in

Hudibrastic verse Hudibrastic is a type of English verse named for Samuel Butler's ''Hudibras'', published in parts from 1663 to 1678.Cox, Michael, editor, ''The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2004, For the poem, Butler ...

. The poem, "Terrible Tractoration", was anonymously published in 1803 and satirized the members of the medical profession who opposed the use of the instruments.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

characterized the poem as "a work of strange, grotesque ideas, aptly expressed". The poem was enlarged and republished in New York in 1806 as "The Minute Philosopher". Politically aligned with the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, Fessenden was suspicious of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

and wrote an extended poem criticizing the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

. Fessenden returned to the United States in 1804 and settled in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Later he went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and edited the ''Weekly Inspector'' for two years. In 1812, he began to practice law in

Bellows Falls, Vermont Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the ...

. He moved to

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

, in 1815, and was editor of the ''Reporter'' there. He returned to Bellows Falls from 1816 till 1822 to conduct the ''Intelligencer''. In 1822, he went to Boston and founded the ''New England Farmer'' with which he was connected until his death. He also edited ''The Horticultural Register'' and ''The Silk Manual''. In 1834 he published ''The Complete Farmer and Rural Economist'', which was revised, improved and enlarged several times, until the 10th edition in 1857. Fessenden died in Boston on November 11, 1837, is buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

. Hawthorne included a piece on Fessenden in his ''Fanshawe, and other Pieces'' (Boston, 1876).

Works

Some of his publications were:
''Terrible Tractoration!! A Poetical Petition Against Galvanising Trumpery, and the Perkinistic Institution'' (1804)
* ''Original Poems'' (1806)
''Democracy Unveiled'' (1806)
* ''The Register of Arts, or a Compendious View of Some of the Most Useful Modern Discoveries and Inventions'' (1808) * ''Pills, Poetical, Political, and Philosophical, Prescribed for the Purpose of Purging the Public of Piddling Philosophers, Penny Poetasters, of Paltry Politicians, and Petty Partisans, by Peter Pepperbox, Poet and Physician'' (1809) * ''The American Clerk's Companion'' (1815) * ''The Ladies' Monitor'' (1818) * ''The Husbandman and Housewife'' (1820) * ''Laws of Patents for New Inventions'' (1822) * ''The Complete Farmer and Rural Economist'', (1834)
10th revised edition
in 1857 His last satire was a little poem entitled "Wooden Booksellers."

Family

His father was Thomas Fessenden, a clergyman, born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, in 1739, died in 1813. The elder Thomas was the son of Rev. William Fessenden, of Cambridge, and uncle to

Samuel Fessenden Samuel Fessenden (July 16, 1784 – March 13, 1869) was an American attorney, abolitionist, and politician. He served in both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature before Maine became a separate state. He was elected as major general i ...

, the father of William P. Fessenden. After graduation at Harvard in 1758, the elder Thomas became pastor in

, which charge he held from 1767 until 1813. He was author of ''The Science of Sanctity'' (1804), and ''The Boston Self-styled Gentlemen-Reviewers reviewed'' (1806).

References

External links

Thomas Green Fessenden (1771-1837)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fessenden, Thomas Green 1771 births 1837 deaths 19th-century American poets American editors Dartmouth College alumni Fessenden family American male poets 19th-century American male writers People from Walpole, New Hampshire People of colonial New Hampshire 19th-century American lawyers