John Bacon (Dedham)

John Bacon (died 1683) was a prominent early settler and selectmen in Dedham, Massachusetts.[1][2][3]

The son of Michael Bacon, he was likely born in England and emigrated to Dedham in 1640 with his father.[1][2] His father had moved to Ireland about seven years before they moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[4] From his father's will, he inherited land in Dorchester and most of Michael's land in Dedham.[1][2]

He frequently served in a number of positions and on a number of committees, including four years as selectman beginning in 1661.[5][1][6][7][4] Bacon was one of the signers of the petition of the town of Dedham against the Indians of Natick that was sent to the governor, his council, and General Court on May 7, 1662.[1][8][9] Previously, he surveyed and laid out the 2,000 acres that had been granted to the Indians but then revoked.[10]

When a dispute arose about the allotment of land, Bacon signed the petition stating asking for mediation.[2] He ran afoul of local laws in 1671 for attempting to sell some of his land to a non-Dedhamite without permission.[11][12]

He was a member of Captain Timothy Dwight's company in King Philip's War and was stationed at the garrison in Wrentham in 1676.[1][2][4] He married Rebecca Hall on December 17, 1651, and together they had nine children: John, Rebecca, Daniel, Sarah, Samuel, Thomas, Susanna, Mary, and Stephen.[1] He resided in Dedham until his death on June 17, 1683.[1][13][4] At the time of his death, he owned 24 cattle, a relatively modest sized herd that was typical of Dedham in that era.[14]

References
  1. Cutter, William Richard (1908). Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Lewis historical publishing Company. p. 1701. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. Baldwin 1915, p. 153.
  3. Brown, B. Katherine (1967). "Puritan Democracy in Dedham, Massachusetts: Another Case Study". The William and Mary Quarterly. 24 (3): 378–396. doi:10.2307/1920874. JSTOR 1920874.
  4. Gilbert Oliver Bent (1903). Who Begot Thee?: Some Genealogical and Historical Notes Made in an Effort to Trace the American Progenitors of One Individual Living in America in 1903. private distribution [Press of D. Clapp & Son]. pp. 25–.
  5. Worthington 1827, p. 79–81.
  6. The Early Records of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts: 1636-1659. volume three. Dedham Transcript. 1892. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  7. Baldwin 1915, p. 153-164.
  8. Baldwin 1915, p. 158.
  9. Town of Dedham (1894). The Early Records of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts. Dedham Transcript Press. pp. 269–70. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. Baldwin 1915, p. 154.
  11. Baldwin 1915, p. 157.
  12. Lockridge 1985, p. 8.
  13. Baldwin 1915, p. 159.
  14. Lockridge 1985, p. 70.

Works cited
  • Lockridge, Kenneth (1985). A New England Town. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-95459-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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