Scope and Content Note
The papers of William Pitt Fessenden (1806-1869) span the years 1832-1878, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1861-1867. Correspondence with related clippings and printed matter primarily document primarily Fessenden's service on the United States Senate Finance Committee and as secretary of the treasury under Abraham Lincoln. The material is organized chronologically in volumes of letters received and copies of letters sent. Letters received comprise the majority of the items in the first seven volumes, while the eighth volume is a copybook of letters sent by Fessenden while serving as secretary of the treasury.
The collection documents Maine and national politics, abolitionism, operations of the Treasury Department in 1864-1865, financing of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Letters and legislative notes by Fessenden in 1832 concern disputed territorial claims in Maine during his first term in the state legislature. Correspondence from 1863 to 1867 relates to major financial crises in America at that time. Family and personal correspondence is also contained in the collection.
Correspondents include Elisha Hunt Allen, John Birney, Gamaliel Bradford, John J. Cisco, Nathaniel Dale, Timothy Davis, Hamilton Fish, Alexander T. Galt, R. M. Griffin, Morris Ketchum, Hugh McCulloch, Robert A. Maxwell, Freeman H. Morse, William D. Porter, John A. Stewart, George M. Towle, Joseph A. Ware, and J. E. Williams.