250 



FELT, JOSEPH B. 



instituted Mr. Gorham in the living, over the 

 bishop's head; whereupon that fiery prelate 

 anathematized the archbishop. Mr. Gorham, 

 however, lived and died Yicar of Bramford 

 Speke, and even became reconciled to his dio- 

 cesan. Archbish op Sumner survived the anath- 

 ema of Bishop Phillpotts, and he did not ven- 

 ture upon carrying out his denunciations to 



FESSENDEN, WILLIAM P. 



their legitimate conclusion, by throwing up his 

 see like the non-juring bishops of James II.'s 

 time. The Bishop of Exeter was a most 

 voluminous writer ; the titles of his books 

 and pamphlets fill nearly thirty pages of 

 the British-Museum Catalogue ; bnt they are 

 mostly controversial, and comparatively few 

 of them will survive their author. 



F 



FELT, Rev. JOSEPH BARLOW, LL. D., one of 

 the most industrious and learned antiquarian 

 writers and scholars in America, born in Sa- 

 lem, Mass., in 1789; died there, September 8, 

 1869. He was educated in Salem and at Dart- 

 mouth College, N. H., where he graduated in 

 1813 ; studied theology under the Rev. Sam- 

 uel Worcester, D. D., and was licensed to preach 

 in 1815. He was pastor at Sharon, Mass., from 

 1821 to 1824, and at Hamilton, Mass., from 1825 

 to 1834. But his largest usefulness was in la- 

 bors outside of the ministry. Hardly any other 

 man in New England had made himself so thor- 

 oughly acquainted with New England history 

 as he. His tastes and habits of thought were 

 those of an antiquarian. Many evidences of 

 his patient labor are among the State archives 

 of Massachusetts. In April, 1836, he was com- 

 missioned by Governor Everett to arrange the 

 ancient State papers, which were in almost 

 hopeless confusion. They are now comprised 

 in several scores of carefully-classified volumes. 

 In 1839 he was appointed to visit England to 

 search for duplicate record^, the originals of 

 which had been lost. The British authorities 

 declined, however, to allow Americans to have 

 access to their offices at that time, fearing they 

 might find evidence bearing upon the north- 

 eastern boundary question, then pending. Dr. 

 Felt accordingly postponed his visit until 1845, 

 when he spent six weeks in England with suc- 

 cessful results. He then returned, and finally 

 completed his labor on the State archives in 

 1846. Of his published works, the principal 

 are, the " Annals of Salem ; " the " History of 

 Ipswich, Essex, and Hamilton," in which are 

 numerous biographies; the " Ecclesiastical His- 

 tory of New England," with various shorter 

 biographical sketches and historical essays. In 

 1857 he received the degree of LL. D. from 

 Dartmouth ; and he bore many honorary titles 

 from various antiquarian and historical socie- 

 ties. 



FESSENDEN, WILLIAM PITT, LL. D., an 

 American statesman, financier, and Senator 

 born in Boscawen, N. H., October 16, 1806; 

 died in Portland, Me., September 8, 1869. His 

 father was Samuel Fessenden, a distinguished 

 lawyer in Maine, who preceded him to the 

 tomb but a few months. He graduated at 

 Uowdom College in 1823, studied law, was 

 admitted to the bar in 1827, opened an office 

 in Bndgton, Cumberland County, Me., and 



in 1829 removed to Portland. In 1831 he was 

 elected to the State Legislature, and, though 

 the youngest member, he soon acquired marked 

 distinction as a debater. From 1832 to 1839 

 Mr. Fessenden devoted himself exclusively 

 to his profession, in which he very soon rose 

 to the first rank, both as a counsellor and 

 advocate. In 1838 he declined to become a 

 candidate for Congress. The next year he 

 was again in the State Legislature, and, al- 

 though a Whig in a Democratic body, he was 

 made chairman of the House Committee to 

 revise the Statutes of the State. In 1840 he 

 was nominated by acclamation as the Whig 

 candidate for Congress, and was elected, out- 

 running the strength of his party. Although 

 he was then but thirty-five years of age, he 

 made a very favorable impression by his 

 speeches on the Loan Bill, Bankrupt Act, Ap- 

 propriation Bill, and other measures. He de- 

 clined a renomination in 1843, and returned 

 to his profession. In the same year he re- 

 ceived the votes of his party in the Legislature 

 for a vacant seat in the United States Senate. 

 For the two years following he served in the 

 Legislature. While a member, in 1845, he 

 again received the votes of the Whigs of the 

 Legislature for a seat in the United States 

 Senate. From 1845 to 1852 he was in private 

 life, devoting himself to his profession with a 

 constantly-extending practice and reputation. 

 During this period he attracted great attention 

 in legal circles by his argument before the 

 Supreme Court at Washington, by which he 

 succeeded in reversing a decision by Judge 

 Story. In 1850, in a contest for Congress, into 

 which he had been unwillingly constrained, 

 the seat was given to his competitor, but 

 he declined to contest the decision, although 

 his claims were believed to be valid. He was 

 elected a member of the National Convention 

 which nominated General Harrison for the 

 presidency in 1840 ; was a member of the Con- 

 vention of 1848, which nominated General 

 Taylor, in which he supported the claims of 

 Mr. Webster ; and a member of the Conven- 

 tion of 1852, which nominated General Scott. 

 In 1853 he was chosen United States Senator 

 by one branch of the State Legislature, but, as 

 a concurrent vote was required, there was no 

 choice. In the succeeding year (1854) Mr. 

 Fessenden was again a member of the Legisla- 

 ture, which was Democratic in both branches. 



