(16 October, 1806 -- 8 September, 1869) Fessenden was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Boscawen, Merrimack County, N.H., Fessenden moved to Maine and studied law. After admittance to the bar in 1827, Fessenden was a member of the State house of representatives in 1832 and 1840. Fessenden was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress and later was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy in the term beginning March 4, 1853, caused by the failure of the legislature to elect. He was reelected in 1859 as a Republican, serving from February 10, 1854 to July 1, 1864.
[Source: 'Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774- Present', available at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp]