Philip J. Fessenden was born at Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1892. He was raised and educated in the East and was a graduate of the Philadelphia Business College and Bucknell University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. For several years he served the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company as accountant. Later he moved to Los Angeles, California, and while there was married to Miss Goldie Schneider, June 25th , 1918. He then became interested in mining in Pioche, Lincoln County, Nevada. He was living there at the time of his entrance into the military service. Following his enrollment on September 20th, 1918, he was assigned to the Provost Marshal General’s Department.

He was placed in the Nevada Detachment under the Adjutant General of Nevada and stationed at Pioche to assist in the enrollment of men in the army and to serve as the Clerk of the Local Draft Board. When the holidays arrived he was given a furlough to visit Mrs. Fessenden in Los Angeles. He returned to Pioche in the first part of January, 1919, and on the 5th of the month contracted influenza. He died on the 12th of January, 1919, at Pioche. At the time, his wife was severely ill with the same disease in Los Angeles. The remains of the soldier were sent back to his old home in Mifflinburg, where his mother, Mrs. Mary E. Crouse, resides. His wife, Mrs. Goldie Fessenden of 2252 West 28th Street, Los Angeles, California, and three sisters survive him. They are: Mrs. Charles M. Showalter, Glen Iron, Union County, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Charles M. Snyder and Miss Grace Fessenden, both of Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania.