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BACON, BACUNSTHORP

THE BACON family in England has a long-standing reputation as medieval and European scholars made their mark for posterity.

GEORGE DE BACUNSTHORP b. ca 1140, of Norfolk, England, is mentioned in Americans of Royal Descent by Browning, Banks' Baronage, Edmondson's Baronagium Genealogicum, Kimber's Baronetage, Notes and Queries, First Series, and Blomefield's Norfolk. Issue:

ROBERT BACON, son of George de Bacunsthorp, b. ca 1160 in England. In 1166 Robert Bacon, William Bacon and Alexander de Kerdentone held four knights' fees of the old feoffment of William de Montfichet, Normandy, France. Issue:

REGINALD BACON, son of Robert Bacon, b. Ca 1180 m. Hawise de Meschines, daughter of Hugh de Meschines, Earl Palatine of Chester who d. 1181, and his wife, Lady Bartred, daughter of Simon, Earl of Evereaux. Lady de Meschines was a descendant of Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, King of the Franks by his third wife, Lady Hildegarde, daughter of Childebrand, Duke of Subia. Issue:

RICHARD BACON, son of Reginald Bacon, was b. ca 1200 in Staffordshire, England m. Alice de Multon. Richard was the benefactor of Bury Abbey and founder of the Priory of Roucester in Staffordshire. Issue:

ROBERT BACON, son of Richard Bacon, b. ca 1230 at Staffordshire, England, in Bacunsthorp, m. a daughter of Sir Richard de Ingham. Issue:

SIR THOMAS BACON, son of Robert Bacon, b. Ca 1250 Staffordshire, England, m. Elizabeth. Issue: SIR BARTHOLOMEW BACON, SIR STEPHEN BACON, FRIAR BACON and SIR HENRY BACON.

SIR HENRY BACON, son of Robert Bacon, was b.ca 1270 Staffordshire, England. Issue:

1. John Bacon, chamberlain to the Exechequer and secretary to the King, master of the Rolls, etc.

2. Sir Henry Bacon b. ca 1310 Staffordshire, England m. Margaret Ludham. Issue:

(a) Sir John Bacon, justice itinerant.

(b) Sir Roger Bacon, b. ca 1340 England, celebrated commander in the wars of Edward II and III m. Felicia Kirton. Issue:

Sir Nicholas Bacon had two sons by Anne: Anthony, born 1558, and Francis, younger by three years.

His second wife, Anne, was a women of indefatigable energy, morally strong, and a Puritan before the religion. When she married Sir Nicholas he was a widower with three boys and three girls. She outlined Nicholas by 30 years! Lady Bacon was one of five remarkable daughters of Sir Anthony Cooke (tutor to King Edward VI). She was fluent in Latin, Greek, Italian and French. When her son, Francis, was three Years old, his mother translated from the Latin an important ecclesiastical tract. it was acceptedby the bishops and published for general use, an extraordinary accomplishment for a woman.

Sir Nicholas adored his high-spirited wife, wrote poems to her and when he composed written prayers, included her in careful legal language. "From the bottom of my heart," he wrote, "praying and beseeching thee, O Lord, so to endue me and A B. uxor with thy grace and favour."

When Francis Bacon was perhaps ten, Sir Nicholas had portrait busts made of his wife, of Francis and of himself they can be seen today at Gorhambury, composed of terra cotta brightly colored, and conveying an extraordinary sense of life. Sir Nicholas is heavily bearded, the forehead deeply lined. It is astrong face, a good race, yet careworn. One recalls Sir Nicholas's ill-health, his frequent fevers his attacks of gout and stone, the asthma that tormented him and which his sons inherited. During his last years, Sir Nicholas became quite fat, making it difficult for him to mount the judicial dais. In Star Chamber, the lawyers would wait for Sir Nicholas to climb the steps, tapping his staff on the floor. The Queen wept when he died, Saying "Sir Nicholas's soul lodges well."

Issue of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper, and his first wife, Jane Ferneley:

a. Sir Nicholas Bacon.

b. Nathaniel Bacon.

Issue of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper and his wife, Anne Cook:

c. Anthony Bacon, b. 1558, attended Cambridge University with his brother, Francis, but they left in March of 1576, without degrees.

d. Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Bacon, celebrated author and EngIish intellectual. Sir Francis Bacon was born in the third year of Queen Elizabeth's reign - January 22, 1561. The place of his birth was an already ancient mansion on the Thames, 3 miles beyond the western wall of London. York House, the mansion was called Francis's father, Sir Nicholas Bacon, occupied it by virtue of his station as Lord Keeper of the Seal the same position actually, as Lord Chancellor, through the more resounding title went only clergy or those of higher blood. Sir Nicholas's father had been a yeoman farmer. York House was the Lord Keeper's official dwelling, a romantic old place, walled and turreted with stables and kitchen gardens behind, and green lawns stretching to the water. To the north an arched gateway gave onto the Strand, a busy, muddy roadway lined With shops, inns and victualiny place. Nobody knew the age of York House, but It was ancient enough to be damp in gouty weather, and there were complaints about the drains. Dishups had lived there until Henry VIII, ruthless depriver of clerics.

Francis came close to royalty, hearing court gossip in the house of his father. "There is little friendship in the world", he wrote, "and least of all between equals." Francis observed that winning tire Queen's favour meant infinite benefits. He had the influence Or his wealthy, uncle, William Cecil, Lord Buryhley, who had married Mildred Cooke, a sister of his mother, Lady Bacon.

"There is in men ambition of the understanding, no less than of the will, especially in high and lofty spirits", Bacon wrote when lie was about sixty years Old. He wrestled with the problem of devoting his talents to his gueen and the government, Or should he serve his own mind? lie preferred to rely upon his own genius, than favours. "By knowing myself, " he wrote, "by inward calling to be fitter to hold a book than to play a part."

When his father died suddenly, Francis Bacon was left very little inheritance. He took up lodgings at Gray's Inn, studying law. His early years seemed to have been spent in calculating whether it was best for him to serve the crown, to enter his own intellectual pursuits. His finances werc precarious,

Eventually when he was forty-five years old, he married a thirteen year old girl, Alice Barnham, on May 1, I606, at Marlebone Chapel. He was dressed in purple from head to toe. She was the daughter of Alderman Barnham, deceased, whose widow, Alice, had married Sir John Pakington, known as Lusty Pakington, His mother-in-law was a trouble-maker. She hailed lier Lusty Pakington into court for spending her money. Francis convinced her to drop the case. Alice's sisters married into high society. One sister was the first wife of Lord Castlehaven, who was involved in a nasty scandal which fascinated London society.

Although there wits no scandal to Francis' marriage, he ultimately separated from his wife, Alice, for in 1625, he wrote her out of his Will, He resided at Gray's Inn, while Alice apparently resided at Corhambury Manor.

He had just concluded one of his extraordinary experiments while traveling from London to Arundel house, when taken ill. He was put to bed at Arundel House. His good friends, Lord Arundel, at the time was in the Tower of London because he had permitted his sun to Privately marry a lady of noble birth. Francis wrote Lord Arundel of his illness and residence at Arundel House. He died in the spare bed at Arundel House, and buried, at his own request, near his mother's grave in St. Michael's Church at St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Thomas Meutys erected a statue to his master above the chancel, at his own expense, which still stands today.

Among the works of Francis Bacon: Advancement of Learning, Apology in certain imputations concerning the late Earl of Essex, Elements of the Common Laws, History of Life and Death, History of the Reign of Henry VII, New Atlantis, Of Deformity, Sacret Meditations, etc.

Scholars still content that Sir Francis Bacon was the author of Shakespeare's plays.... believing that he was the only one of that era brilliant enough.

Continuing with the issue of Robert Bacon and wife, Isabel Cage:

iii. Barbara Bacon m. Robert Sharp.

iv. Anne Bacon m. Robert Blakman.

v. James Bacon, Alderman, b. Ca 1500 Suffolk, England, d. 6/5/1573 St. Peter le Poor, Suffolk, England, buried 6/7/1573 St. Dunstan-in-the-East, London, England m. Margaret Rawlins, daughter of William Rawlins, Grocer, and widow of Richard Gouldston. Issue:

a. Sir James Bacon, Knight, of Friston Hall, Suffolk, b. Ca 1560/1570 d. 1/17/1618 Finsbury, Friston Hall, Suffolk, England m. Elizabeth, daughter of Francis and Anne (Drury) Bacon of Hessett. Francis Bacon b. ca 1545 Hessett, Suffolk m. Anne Drury b. 1/8/1545 Hessett, Suffolk, daughter of Robert Drury and Audrey Rich. Robert Drury b. 1/13/1524 Hawstead, Suffolk, England, was a son of William Drury and Elizabeth Sotehill. Issue of Sir James Bacon as follows:

I. Nathaniel Bacon, son of Sir James Bacon, b. 5/15/1593 Friston Hall, Suffolk, England, buried 8/1644 at Friston Church m. Anne le Grosse, dau of Sir Thomas le Grosse of Crostwicky, Norfolk. Had issue:

(a) Thomas Bacon of Friston m. (1) Elizabeth (d. 1/2/1647, aged 25), daughter of Sir Robert Brooke of Cockfield Hall, Suffolk, England, and had issue:

I. Major-General Nathaniel Bacon, another famous Bacon, known as Nathaniel Bacon, the younger, Rebel Patriot of 1676 in Virginia, b. 1/2/1647, d. Gloucester Co., Va. 10/26/1666. He m. Elizabeth, baptised 12/17/1650, daughter of Sir Edward Duke, Bart. Of Burnhall Lodge, Suffolk, England.

From Virginia: The New Dominion, p. 60-63:

"In fear and apprension, a group of citizens from Charles City County requested Governor Berkeley to grant them permission to goe out against the Indians. The governor refused. Thus the stage was set Cor the emergence of a strong leader to take matters into his own hands and to organize an expedition against the redskins, permission or no permission. That lender was ready to take the field, despite the crave risks involved. He was twenty-eight-year-old Nathaniel Bacon, Jr.

Born in England at Friston Hall, Suffolk, and related Co the renowned Francis Bacon, this young man evidently possessed remarkable capacity, of gentle blood, he was on M. A. of Cambridge University and had traveled widely in Europe. He had married Elizabeth Duke in a runaway wedding, contrary to lier rather's not altogether comprehensible objections, and they had come to Virginia separately in I674. Young Bacon was not only related to Governor Berkeley by marriage; he was also a cousin of an older Nathaniel Bacon who had achieved prominence in the colony and was a councilor. The governor welcomed the younger Bacon with the words, "Gentlemen of your quality come very rarely into this country, and therefore when they do come are used by me with all respect. Uerkeley appointed him to the council, an extraordinary accolade for one of his age, especially since he had been in tile colony for only a lew months...

He is described as black-haired, slender and of medium height, of a pensive and melancholy disposition, but bold, active, of an inviting aspect, and powerful elocution.' A hostile critic termed him in "every way qualified to lead a giddy and unthinking multitude'....

After Nathaniel Bacon's death, his wife, Elizabeth Duke Bacon, m. 2nd, Capt. Thomas Jarvis, ship captain, of Hampton Town, VA, and 3rd, Edward Mole.

Issue of Nathaniel Bacon and Elizabeth Duke:

a. Elizabeth (Mary) bapt. 4/12/1675 at Friston Pparish m. Dr. Hugh Chamberlain, physician to Queene Anne.

b. Nathaniel (also called John) b. 1675/6 Va. After his father's death, was adopted by Mrs. Frances Izard. In 1725 he petitioned for land grant of 1030 acres in Henrico Co., Va. LWT dated 1743, probated Henrico Co., Va., named children by his first wife, Elizabeth Parke. Issue:

1. Nathaniel Bacon of Henrico Co., Va. 1705-1779. His issue:

(a) Agnes Bacon m. Matthew Hobson of Va.

(b) Sara Bacon b. 1740 d. 1/26/1816 m. Charles Edwin Crenshaw of Hanover Co., Va.

2. Nathaniel Parke Bacon of Henrico Co., Va., had issue:

(a) Capt. John Bacon of Ga. M. Agnes Hobson, and had issue:

(1) John Bacon of Savannah, Ga. B. 11766 d. 4/1812 m. Eliza Ruffin, daughter of Nathaniel Cocke of Fauquier Co., Va. Issue: John Edmund Bacon b. 1812 Augusta, Ga. D. 1882 Columbus Ga. M. (1) Clementina, daughter of Robert West Alston of Halifax, N. C. And had issue: Robert Alston Bacon of Graysville, Ga. Henrietta Alston Bacon of Alexander City, Alabama m. 1858 Joseph Bibb McDonald.

(2) Edmund Bacon m. Elizabeth Cocke and had issue: Sarah Bacon who m. Sherwood Bugg.

II. Rev. James Bacon, son of Sir James Bacon, b. ca 1580/1590 Friston Hall, Suffolk, England, d. 11/9/1649 Suffolk, England m. At St. Mary le Bow, London, England, 11/18/1619 Martha Woodward, the daughter of George Woodward and his wife, Elizabeth Honywood. Martha Woodward was chr. 6/12/1597 at Upton, Cum Chalvey, Buckinghamshire, England, and d. 1670. The LWT of Rev. James Bacon, rector of Burgatt, Suffolk, probated 1/23/1650. The LWT of Sir Robert Peake, knight, 7/26/1667 London, England mentioned "my cousin and sometime servant, George Lyddall of Virginia, Gentleman, 300 pounds." Note: Edmund Bacon, son of Thomas (son of Rev. James Bacon) m. Ann, daughter of George Lyddall. Issue of Rev. James Bacon:

(a) Martha Bacon m. Before 1652 Anthony Smith of Colchester, Va., d. 1667.

(b) William Bacon patented land in Northumberland Co., Va. In 1660. Nathaniel Bacon chr. 8/29/1620 Bury St. Edmund Parish, Suffolk, England, d. 1692 York Co., Va. m. Mrs. Anne Bassett Smith. Nathaniel Bacon was a member of the Virginia Council for forty years, and d. In York Co., Va. In 1692. The estate of Nathaniel Bacon is dated 1692 York Co., Va. Quoting from William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5 (1), page 268:

"There was a Sir Thomas Lyddall in England who died in 1627, leaving his father, Thomas, surviving him. This Sir Thomas Lyddall married Bridget, daughter of George Woodward and Elizabeth Honywood, and her sister, Martha, married first Rev. James Bacon, father of Col. Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., President of the Virginia Council, and second, Rev. Robert Peake, rector of Hingham, in Norfolk Co., England. According to the Will of William Bassett of County of Southampton in the Kingdom of England dated 28 August 1671, probated 4 January 1672, this Nathaniel Bacon was married to a sister of William Bassett. "My dear brother, Nathaniel Bacon, Esquire, and Mr. George Lyddall, to be executors". Nephew, Joseph Foster, was given land in New Kent Co., Virginia and nieces, Ann and Mary Foster, to inherit when of age."

(d) Thomas Bacon b. 1615 Suffolk, England d. 1656/1657 Westmoreland Co., Va. M. Elizabeth. Inventory of Estate of Thomas Bacon was appraised by Richard Hawkins and John Redmond. Admx, Elizabeth Bacon. 10/9/1656, page 46, Westmoreland Co., Va.

The Estate Records, Westmoreland Co., Va., Colonial Abstracts (1653-1657), page 46: "Thomas Bacon, aged 40, affidavit, 20 Nov 1655. His mark."

Page 89, Westmoreland Co., Va., Estate of Thomas Bacon, decd, 12/21/1657, Mrs. Elizabeth Haggart's account of Estate. Elizabeth m. 2nd, after death of Thomas Bacon, by 1657, Hum. Haggart. Issue of Thomas Bacon and Elizabeth, his wife:

i. Nathaniel Bacon b. 1/2/1657 Suffolk, England d. 10/26/1676 Westmoreland Co., Va. m. Elizabeth Duke.

ii. Capt. Edmund Bacon b. 1654 Suffolk, England, d. 1705 New Kent Co., Va. M. Ann Lyddall, who died St. Peters Parish, New Kent Co., Va., a daughter of Capt. George Lyddall of New Kent Co., Va. And his wife, Barbara Bowker. Capt. Edmund Bacon patented land in New Kent Co., Va. On Pamunkey River 10/21/1687 for the transportation of five persons: Thomas Bacon, Anne Lyddall, Katherine Davis, Nathaniel Smith and George Pargeter. The Estate of Edmund Bacon was dated 1705, New Kent Co., Va. Issue:

a. Thomas Bacon.

b. John Bacon, Sheriff, b. 1672 New Kent Co., Va. D. 1759 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va. M. (1) Susannah Parkes 7/4/1710 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va., the daughter of John Parkes (chr. 8/6/1645 St. Margarets, Westminster, London, England, d.1/17/1720 New Kent Co., Va.) And wife, Mary, who d. 10/17/1714 New Kent Co., Va., St. Peter's Parish. John Parkes was a son of James Parks, chr. 10/22/1620 St. Botolph without Aldgate, London, England. The LWT of John Bacon dated 10/20/1758, probated 7/3/1759 Lunenburg Co., Va. John Bacon m. (2) 7/4/1707 New Kent Co., Va., Sarah Langston (d. 1/4/1709 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va.).

Issue by wife, Susannah Parks:

1. John Bacon b. 5/14/1711 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va. D. 7/1759 Lunenburg Co., Va. M. (1) Anne (2) Frances.

2. Sarah Bacon b. 12/28/1712 St. Peter's Parish, new Kent Co., Va. M. Samuel Bugg, Jr. (5 William and Mary (1), p. 271, states that Samuel Bugg, son of Samuel Bugg, who d. 9/3/1716/1717 and wife, Deborah, married a sister of John Bacon).

3. Capt. Edmund Bacon b. 4/8/1722 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va. m. Elizabeth.

4. Anne Bacon b. 10/29/1727 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va.

5. Susannah Bacon b. 1/6/1731 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va.

6. Frances Bacon b. 2/5/1734/1735 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va. m. Whitlocke Bulstrode.

7. Colonel Lyddall Bacon b. 1717 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va., d. 10/1775 Lunenburg Co., Va. m. 1740 New Kent Co., Va., Mary Hardy, b. 1723 Isle of Wight Co., Va. d. 10/11/1816 Lunenburg Co., Va., a daughter of Richard Hardy (1699 Isle of Wight Co., Va.-1789) and wife, Mary Covington. See below for descendants.

Issue of John Bacon and wife, Sarah Langston:

8. Nathaniel Bacon b. 8/14/1708 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Va. D. 1743 Henrico Co., Ga. (LWT dtd 1743).

9. William Bacon b. 1709 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., Virginia, died in Henrico County, Virginia.

DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL LYDDALL BACON AND WIFE, MARY HARDY

I. Langston Bacon b. 5/26/1746 Lunenburg Co., Va., d. 8/1831 Charlotte Co., Va. LWT of Langston Bacon dated 8/25/1831 Charlotte Co., Va.

II. Lyddall Bacon b. 11/27/1755 Lunenburg Co., Va. D. 12/1807 Edgefield Co., S. C. M. Mary Stokes. LWT of Allen Stokes dated 1/10/1781, probated 2/3/1787 Lunenburg Co., Va. Named daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Lyddall Bacon.

III. Richard Bacon b. 11/20/1760 Lunenburg Co., Va. D. 1797 Norfolk Co., Va. Inventory of Estate of Richard Bacon, Norfolk Co., Va. 1797.

IV. Edmund Parkes Bacon b. 11/13/1762 Lunenburg Co., Va. d. 11/1825 Lunenburg Co., Va. LWT of Edmund Parkes Bacon dated 1/1/1825, probated 11/14/1825 Lunenburg Co., Va.

V. Drury Allen Bacon b. 12/13/1765 Lunenburg Co., Va. d. 9/3/1845 Mecklenburg Co., Va. m. (1) 5/22/1786 Mary (Polly) Stokes, Lunenburg Co., Va. (2) 12/16/1792 Mrs. Nancy Aris Nance Jackson (3) 8/1817 Elizabeth Jones.

VI. Elizabeth Bacon b. 12/14/1741 Lunenburg Co., Va. d. 1/1818 Lunenburg Co., Va. m. William Gordon.

VII. Lucy Bacon b. 4/11/1744 Lunenburg Co., Va. m. Charles Allen. LWT of Charles Allen, Sr. dated 1759 Lunenburg Co., Va.

Page 167-169, Cumberland Parish, Lunenburg Co.., Va. By Landon C. Bell: "Daughter, Ann Lyddall, b. About 1640, m. Edmund Bacon."

VIII. Anne Bacon b. 10/11/1749 Cumberland Parish, Lunenburg Co., Va., d. Richmond Co., Ga. M. 10/30/1764 Robert Dixon in Cumberland Parish, Lunenburg Co., Va.

IX. Sarah Bacon b. 8/19/1753 Lunenburg Co., Va. m. 7/12/1770 in Lunenburg Co., Va. John Glenn.

X. Susannah Bacon b. 1/16/1750 Lunenburg Co., Va. d . 12/16/1760 Lunenburg Co., Va.

XI. Mary Bacon b. 3/14/1759 Lunenburg Co., Va.

Sir Nicholas Bacon


Sir Nicholas Bacon was born 28 December 1510, died on 20 February 1579) was an English politican who served as the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the reign of Queen Elizabeth i of England. He was the father of the philosopher and statesman Sir Francis Bacon. Sir Nicholas was born at Chislehurst, Kent, the second son of Robert Bacon (1478-1548) of Drinkstone, Suffolk by his wife Eleanor Isabel Cage. He graduated from Corpus Christ College of Cambridge in 1527, afterwards entering the study of law at Grays Inn. He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1545 (representing Dartmouth). Because he was a Protestant he lost preferment under Queen Mary i of England, but when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558, he was made Lord Keeper, afterwards being knighted.



The Marybone Chapel or Marylebone Chapel (originally known as the Oxford Chapel founded by Earl Mortimer was an Anglican Church situated on Oxford Street. It was originally designed by James Gibbs in 1722. Later renamed St. Peters, Vere Street. Francis Bacon was left very little inheritance when his father died suddenly. Eventually when he was forty-five years old, he married a thirteen year old girl, Alice Barnham, on May 1, I606, at Marylebone Chapel. He was dressed in purple from head to toe. She was the daughter of Alderman Barnham, deceased, whose widow, Alice, had married Sir John



Gray's Inn is one of four ancient Inns of Court still in operation. As you enter, you'll see a late-Georgian terrace lined with buildings that serve as both residences and offices. Gray's was restored after suffering heavy damage in World War II. This is where Nicholas Bacon and his son, the famous Scientist-philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) studied law.



St. Peter's Parish in New Kent County, Virginia where the Bacon children were christened.



Nathaniel Bacon was born 2 Jan 1647 in Suffolk, England and died October of 1676 in Virginia. He came to the colony of Virginia in 1673, acquiring large tracts of land in Northumberland County. He soon became the institgator of what was called Bacon's Rebellion. He was appointed to the council of William Berkeley, the British governor. After a dispute over Indian policy, he defied Berkeley's orders and organized an expedition against the Indians in 1676. He then turned his forces against Berkeley, captured Jamestown, and briefly controlled most of Virginia. The body of Nathaniel Bacon rests in an unknown grave, perhaps beneath the waters of the River York, near whose banks he died at the age of 29 years of influenza. His death ended the rebellion.



Sir William Berkeley (1605-1677) was governor of Virginia longer than any other man, from 1642 until 1652 and from 1660 until his death in 1677.

When citizens of Charles City expressed alarm for their safety, they turned to Bacon. He agreed to lead them against the murderous natives, whether or not lie got a commission to do so from the governor. The rugged frontiersmen drank "damnation to their soules to be true to him.' They found him to be a "master and owner of those inducements which constitute a complete man (35 to intrince-calls), wisdom to apprehend and discretion to chuse.'

Without authorization from Berkeley, Bacon led an expedition against the Occaneechees,a tribe whose fortified village was on an island in Roanoke River near the present town of Clarksville. This tribe claimed to be friendly, but as Bacon was parleying with their leaders for food, a shot killed one of his men. Instantly he stormed the village, set it on fire, and slaughtered more than a hundred Indians, including the chief and many woman and children. This bloody and highly controversial episode, which took place in May 1676, has never been fully explained. Berkeley charged Bacon with treason and rebellion for going against the Indians without his authorization, suspended him from the council, and claimed that he had attacked the Occaneechees "to the dishonour of the English nation." Bacon, by contrast, declared that "we cannot in our hearts find one single spot of rebellion or treason." But no matter what charges the governor made, the people strongly approved of Bacon's leadership in fighting the redskins who had butchered many of their relatives and friends, often ater the most frightful tortures. He and his men were acclaimed on their return, and Bacon was unanimously elected to the House of Burgesses from Henrico County.

A general election had at last been called by Berkeley, after fourteen years. In one respect, at least, the election boomeranged on His Excellency, for the Henricoans now idolized the "traitor" Bacon as their long-sought protector and champion. Berkeley succeeded in capturing Bacon and bringging him to Jamestown. Hundreds of the latter's following promptly poured into the capitol with a view to rescuing their leader. The governor summoned the burgesses to Council chamber, and brought in Bacon. Turning to him, Berkeley exclaimed:

"Now I behold the greatest rebel that ever was in Virginia!" Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia. (He was a relative of Nathaniel Bacon).

Bacon kneeled, thanked the governor, and handed him a written admission of guilt and a request for pardon. Nathaniel Bacon, the elder, had advised him to go to these lengths, in the hope of brining about a reconciliation between Berkeley and the people of Virginia, who had grown increasingly hostile towards the Governor.

Berkeley thereupon not only forgave Bacon, but added that he forgave his followers also. A few days later he reinstated Bacon to the Council and promised him the long-sought commission to fight the Indians. Despite evidences of apparently improved relations between the two factions, Bacon concluded that the governor was plotting against him, and might even have him killed. So, Bacon escaped in the night from Jamestown, barely eluding Berkeley's men, who were searching for him. Bacon's promised commission was not been forthcoming, and he felt therefore that he was no longer obligated to honor his oath of allegiance to the governor. Accordingly, at the head of about a hundred well-armed men...he returned to Jamestown on June 23, 1676, and lined up his forces outside the statehouse. The Assembly was in session. Bacon demanded his commission with "fryer and sword" as the alternative.

The fuming Governor Berkeley came running out of the building to confront him, and denounced him as a rebel and traitor. Exclaiming, "Here, shoot me, foregod, fair mark, shoot!" The infuriated Berkeley drew his sword and taunted Bacon to fight him. The latter replied that he had no intention to "hurt a haire of your Honor's head, and for your sword your Honor may please putt it up." But Bacon added ominously: "I came for a commission against the heathern who dayly and inhumanely murder us and spill our breathrens blood, and noe care is taken to prevent it. God damne my blood, I came for a commission, and a commission I will have before I goe!"

Bacon ordered his men to point their cocked guns at the windows of the statehouse, from which many Assemblymen were peering. Again demanding the commission and accompanying the demand with "new coined oathes", he showed that he would not be put off. A commission was not only signed for him, but others were granted to several of his officers. And that was by no means all, for the Baconians...a number of leading planters among them; obtained other far-reaching concessions. These included a pardon for all their "treasonable" actions, together with a letter to the king approving and prising those actions. In addition, important statutes, known thereafter as "Bacon's Laws", were passed in the final three days of the session. These laws did much to loosen, at least temporarily, the viselike grip which a small clique of officeholders from a handful of families had on the colony....

These were the last days of June...Bacon and his men left Jamestown with the commissions they had sought, and also with a series of enactments which loosened the hold o f the central oligarchy. But the Baconians had hardly begun to move against the Indians when Governor Berkeley suddenly denounced them as traitors and rebels, and made it known that he was raising an army to subdue them. Bacon, evidently a masterful orator, roused his 1300 men to instant action. Berkeley, for his part, soon found that the militia of Gloucester and Middlesex, whose aid he sought, were completely unwilling to go against Bacon. The militamen walked from the field, leaving Berkeley and his entourage frustrated and bewildered....

Bacon established his headquarters at Middle Plantation (now Williamsburg), and ordered some of the leading planters who were opposing him to be brought before him. Plantations of some of those who had joined Berkeley on the Eastern Shore had been looted by his rebels. What was termed a "convention" was held by the Baconians, and a Declaration of Principles were issued on August 3. The intention was to put their rebellion in perspective and to elucidate their objectives. Bacon also managed to exact from all those in attendance at the convention, including some of the leaders, in Berkeley's government, a pledge not to aid the governor in any way. He sought, furthermore, to obtain a commitment from them to fight any forces sent against them from England, until the king could be advised of the true situation in Virginia. There were violent objections to this commitment, but Bacon locked the doors, and by threats and persuasion, over a period of some twelve hours, managed to get the signatures. Many were swayed to his side by the news which arrived during the session: Berkeley had absconded with all the arms and ammunition from York Fort, leaving the people thereabouts at the mercy of the Indians.

They decided to pursue Governor Berkeley to the Eastern Shore and to capture him, if possible. Bacon's men commanded two ships and headed across the Chesapeake Bay, adding other vessels enroute. Bacon, meanwhile, went in pursuit of the Pamunkey Indians in the Dragon Swamp. He achieved a victory against them and gathered considerable plunder. But on his return he received the shocking news that Berkeley had outmaneuvered the rebels, and had captured all their ships...together with the leaders of the expedition and the 250 soldiers onboard.

Bacon headed for "Green Spring", the plantation owned by Governor Berkeley, while Berkeley's army defended Jamestown. The tired rebels, furthermore, had been marching back and forth in one of the hottest and wettst summers on record, sleeping in the rain, wading through swamps and undergoing other similar ordeals. Yet Bacon did not hesitate to go on the offensive against the entrenched governor.

Bacon addressed his men, telling them of the dangers they faced..."Come on, my hearts of gold! He that dyes in the field lyes in the bedd of honour!" Berkeley ordered his men to attack, but the govern's lack of popular support soon became evident. The attackers fled headlong when Bacon's soldiers stood firm and fire volley after volley. It was a debacle for Berkeley. He saw that the sympathies of the soldiers who were supposedly loyal to him were actually with his enemies. At the end of five days, he took ship and fled to the Eastern Shore again. Bacon then entered Jamestown. However, a new threat loomed. Colonel Giles Brent, a Berkeley adherent, was reported to be assembling a thousand men in northern Virginia to march against Bacon. The latter feared that if he moved to meet Brent, Berkeley would return to Jamestown and reorganize there for an attack on his rear. He accordingly determined to burn the town. It consisted of a dozen brick residences, plus a few frame structures, the statehouse and the church. All these buildings were set afire, after the colony's official records had been removed to a place of safety. The destruction of Jamestown turned out to be unnecessary. For when Colonel Brent's army heard Jamestown had fallen to Bacon, it melted away. The threat from that quarter ended.

Nevertheless, Bacon planned to continue the fight, and was formulating his strategy when illness laid him low. In the soggy trenches before Jamestown he is believed to have contracted the dysentery which carried him off a few weeks later. Death came on October 26 at the home of Major Thomas Pate on Portopotank Creek in Gloucester County, a short distance from West Point. Bacon was buried secretly, lest perchange Governor Berkeley seek to inflict indignities upon his corpse.

The death of Nathaniel Bacon deprived the rebellion of its magnetic leader, and rendered hopeless any effective opposition to Berkeley.

The vengeful old governor hunted down various leaders of the rebel faction and hanged them. Among them was Captain Thomas Hansford, who pleaded unavilingly to be shot rather than hanged, protesting to the end that he had merely fought the Indians and was no disloyal subject to the king. William Drummond, who has been governor of North Carolina, was captured in the Chickahominy Swamp; Major Thomas Cheeseman also was captured; but escaped the noose by dying in prison. But thanks to Bacon, the Indian threat was effectively countered, and some of the worst injustices of the regime of Governor Berkeley were ameliorated. While Bacon's Laws were repealed a few months after his death, some of them were then partially re-enacted.

Sources: Francis Bacon, the Temper of a Man by Catherine Drinker Bowen; Nathaniel Bacon Papers, Norfolk, England; N. E. Historical Genealogical Register, vol. xxxvii; Keith's Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison; Brown's Genesis of the United States; History Of Suffolk, ii., p. 186 by Suckling; Burke's Extinct Baronetages; Americans of Royal Descent by Browning, Banks' Baronage, Edmondson's Baronagium Genealogicum; Kimber's Baronetage, Notes and Queries, First Series; Blomefield's Norfolk; Bible of Mrs. Mary Bacon, widow of Lyddall Bacon, recorded 5 William and Mary (2), page 182-187; LWT of Lyddall Bacon dated 7/21/1775, probated 10/12/1775 Lunenburg Co., Virginia; Bible of Mrs. Mary Bacon, widow of Lyddall Bacon, recorded 5 William and Mary (2), page 182-187; LWT of Drury Allen Bacon dated 9/3/1845 Mecklenburg Co., Virginia; William and Mary (1), page 267; LWT of John Bacon dated 10/2/1758, probated 7/3/1759 Lunenburg Co., Virginia; Americans of Royal Descent by Browning; The LWT of Lyddall Bacon dated 7/10/1807, probated 12/18/1807 Edgefield Co., S. C.; Playfair's British Family Antiquity; Anglo-Norman Families by Lewis C. Loyd; Francis Bacon, the Temper of a Man by Catherine Drinker Bowen; Cullome's History of Hawstead; Encyclopedia Britannica.; P. C. C. I. Bakon (B.53); Virginia Historical Magazine, I., p. 430; Cumberland Parish by Landon C. Bell; The Estate Records, Westmoreland Co., Va., Colonial Abstracts (1653-1657), page 46; 5 William and Mary, 1st series, p. 267.