The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-10
EACH Is SIX FEET TALL
Here Is the Phenomenal Record Of
Stalwart Maine Family Whose Weight
Aggregated 5000 POuuds.


Aggregated 5000 Pounds.
On the summit Of a big, hill in the
eastern part of Denmark, Me-, there
was born and raised one Of the most In
teresting families In Maine, that OF
William Fessenden. the railroad build
er. a family that weighed about 5000
pounds. The best-knOwn member of
the family Is Rufus Gardiner Fessen-
den, who has recently been promoted
to police sergeantcy In Boston. There
Is probably not a resident Of Boston
who has not seen big Rufe." who for
eleven years has been the tallest police
man in the city. An average-siZed man
walking beside Sergeant Fessenden
looks like a child. but big Rufe" was
but child by the side Of his sister
Sarah Elizabeth. who was without
doubt the biggest girl in New England.
In the omposing room of the Bridgeton
News Is a post on which Is the meas
ure Of the tall men Of Bridgeton. At
the top of the list is Rufus Gardiner
Fessenden, 6 feet 4 inches. Then
comes F.. s. March, s feet inches; Les
ter Hancock, feet inches; Charles
Walker. Ed Chaplin. James Coons and
Eugene Chaplin. feet. A Boston
Globe correspondent climbed the long.
steep hill and found William Fessen-
den to be quite an active man In full
possession of his faculties. save for
slight deafness, although he has been
hard working man for seventy-nine
years. Mr.. Fessenden told this inter-
estlng story:
II was the father Of eleven children
Perhaps you may consider them large
though I don't know but what Sarah
was good-sized girl. My first child
was william Austin. He was born In
1888. Austin is six feet six inches in
height and has weighed 27O pounds
He lives on farm about two miles
out Of Brighton Village, at Sandy
Creek. My second child was George
Alnow, born In lS41. He was the short
est Of the family. He was only six feet
in height, and weighed 200 pounds
When constructing railroad In Ohio
George jumped from moving car and
received injuries which caused his
DEATH My third child was Thomas
Pingree, born in 1912. He was six feet
two inches, and weighed considerably
more than 200 pounds. He Is dead.
Another whopper.
"The next was Sarah Elizabeth, born
in 1874. she was more than feet In
height, and when little girl she
weighed 24O pounds. She was sensitive
about her weight, and would not get on
the scales when she became older.
guess you can put down her weight as
more than 900 pounds She died about
seven years ago. My fifth child was
William Walker, born In lS46. He died
when Is years old. He was as large as
any Of his brothers at that age. Charles
Ellsworth was the sixth child. He was
born in 1s49. His height was feet 3
inches, and his weight 230 pounds. He
lives on the old Governor Cleaves home
stead in Bridgeton. The seventh child
was Edwin Palmer, born In 1850. He Is
6 feet 3 inches, and weighs 24O pounds.
He lives on farm In this town.
Stephen Alexander was born In 1852,
and Parker Pingree In 1864. Stephen
tcnth child was Ru;,,s Gardiner, born
In 1857. He is police sergeant in Bos-
.on My last child was Adolphus Deer
ing, born in 1875. He lives here on the
farm. He Is 6 feet Z inches and weighs
1870 pounds"
In speaking of himself Mr.. Fessenden
said II was born in 1916. I am 6 feet
In height, and never weighed over 1870
pounds. My ancestors were medium
sized persons. have built country
roads in different parts Of Maine.
built the Pittsburg and Ohio railroad
above Brownfield, the Eastern at Con-
way, a part of the Nashua, Acton and
Boston, a railroad at Dunstable, Mass,
and sixteen miles Of the narrow gauge
at Brldgeton. I began life with moth
ing. and have held my own quite well.
In 1888 married Mehitable F.. Pingree.
She was then "a years. old, stood over
and weighed over 200 pounds. When I
was counting her the boys used to
plague me and say Mehitable was too
big a girl for me to wait on. She was
one Of fourteen children, eight girls and
six boys. all over six feet In height and
over 200 pounds in weight. They all
lived to marry. When they assembled
in one room they made the floor bend"
Most giants are slow of movement
and often clumsy. but the Fessendens.
Palmer excepted, are athletic. They
were noted ball players, and the boys
excelled In games and sports. They
were all good scholars and brilliant In
mathematics; still. their inclinat tions
were to physical rather than mental
occupations.
WHY 1T FAILED.