USA > Maryland > Talbot County > History of Talbot county, Maryland, 1661-1861, Volume I > Part 30
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Of the early life of Mr. Bacon little or nothing is certainly known. He is represented to have been born of respectable parents in the Isle of Man-that little spot of earth which long held such an anomalous political relation to the kingdom of Great Britain, and indeed in a meas- ure still holds it, and whose people are so characteristically distinguished from their compatriots on either side of the sea that surrounds it, whether English, Irish or Scotch. He is thought to have been born about the year 1700, when though William of Orange was upon the throne of Eng- land, the Earl of Derby was King of Man. As little is known of his education as of his birth and parentage. The evidences which he gave in after life are proofs of his having enjoyed good academic instruction; for he was undoubtedly acquainted with the ancient languages, and his learning was such as to merit the degree of Doctor of Divinity which late in life was conferred upon him by one of the universities of the United Kingdom, probably that of Dublin, in which city he gave his
1 In order that credit may be given where it is justly due it is proper to state that a large part of the materials used in the preparation of this biographical sketch is to be attributed to the Rev. Dr. Ethan Allen, the industrious collector of so much information respecting the clergymen who exercised their functions as ministers of the established church, and of the Protestant Episcopal Church, its successor, in Maryland. In the "Quarterly Church Review" for Oct. 1865, Dr. Allen published quite an extended memoir of Mr. Bacon, in which he embodied almost all that was then known of him. This memoir has been freely used. Some errors trivial as well as important have been corrected, and some additions have been made of incidents in Mr. Bacon's life which were either unknown to his biog- rapher, or which he thought it proper to suppress as being unsuitable for or un- worthy of publication. These additions have been made from sources entirely authentic-public records or private letters and memoranda. Some of the sources of Mr. Allen's information have been re-examined, but others are beyond the reach of the present writer; so many of his statements must be taken upon his authority alone, as there are no means of verification.
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first exhibition of scholarly tastes and habits. After the conclusion of his academic course he appears to have travelled extensively, adding to his stock of knowledge by observation of men and manners in his own and foreign countries. His biographer speaks of him as having at this period of his life "experienced many changes of fortune," without noting what these were; but the expression may be understood as mean- ing that he attempted several callings without achieving success in any. It is certain that the sacred ministry was not the calling of his first adop- tion. In the year 1737 he was residing in the city of Dublin, and had before this date published "a laborious and judicious work entitled 'A complete System of Revenue in England,'" a work which the bibliog- raphers have not been able to trace, but of which he himself gives a brief account. From the nature of this work it is not improbable that he held some post under the government in the department of the revenue. But by the year 1738 his mind had been diverted from civil or secular pursuits and he had determined to devote himself to the sacred calling of the Christian ministry, with a purpose, probably, of exercising his vocation in the provinces of Virginia or Maryland, which then offered an inviting field to either the conscientious or the selfish clergyman of the church of England. He was fortunate in having at his former home, in the Isle of Man, to which he returned, so warm a friend, so learned an instructor and so pious and devoted an exemplar in all the professional as well as Christian virtues, as "good Bishop Wilson," the memory of whose pure life and good deeds is still and ever shall be fresh and fra- grant in the church catholic.2 It would seem that Mr. Bacon's prepara- tion for the ministry was deliberate and thorough, for it was not until 1744 that he was admitted to holy orders. On the 23d of September of that year he was ordained deacon and on the 11th of March of the
2 To this saintly man the pious throughout the world shall ever be indebted for his books of devotion, the people of his diocese for innumerable benefits, tem- poral and spiritual, and even we, of this far distant county, for acts of benevolence which should never be forgotten, and which justify this tribute. Such was his unselfishness that he refused several offers, by his sovereign, of translation, to sees of richer revenue; such his lowliness of mind that he persistently declined taking the seat in the House of Lords, to which he was entitled; such his gentle- ness of spirit that he was never known to speak a harsh word even to those who wronged him; such his charities to the poor that he was said to have kept beggars from all doors but his own; and such his humility, reaching beyond the grave, that when he came to die, he forbade his son to inscribe upon his tomb any words of praise. The best eulogium that can be pronounced upon Mr. Bacon is that he enjoyed the constant friendship of Bishop Wilson.
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year following he was ordained priest, Bishop Wilson in each case being the ordinant, and the ceremony taking place in Kirk Michael, one of the parish churches of the diocese of Sodor and Man. At this time and up to the period of the Revolution, the colonies in America were under the ecclesiastical control of the Bishop of London, and it was only with his consent that ministers of the established church were allowed to exercise their functions in the provinces. Mr. Bacon was set apart for this duty, with the assent of this prelate. He had selected the province of Maryland as the field of his labors, his attention having been drawn in this direction by his brother, Mr. Anthony Bacon, a London mer- chant.8 He had formed the acquaintance of the Lord Proprietary, and having won his favor and esteem, it is probable he received some assurances of a presentation to a living, should a vacancy occur. At this date the Proprietary of Maryland was Charles Calvert, the fifth, or as some say the sixth Lord Baltimore. The family had again become Protestant in faith, Benedict Leonard Calvert having in 1713 publicly abjured Romanism. Before leaving England for the field of his labor, Mr. Bacon had been appointed domestic chaplain to the Proprietary, which appears to have been a purely honorary position, or if there was any salary attached, the office was a sinecure inasmuch as no duties were required. This honor, and whatever else the place brought to him, if anything, he continued to enjoy through life, as we find him as late as 1765, inscribing himself in his book of Laws, as "Domestic Chaplain to the Lord Proprietary."
Before leaving England, but at what date it is not certainly known, Mr. Bacon had married a wife and by her a son had been born to him.
3 Mr. afterwards Sir Anthony Bacon, the brother of Mr. Thomas Bacon, was a large shipping merchant of London, who for many years, and as long as the tobacco . trade was profitable, maintained a close commercial intercourse with the people of this province. He had his factors or agents, with their stores and warehouses at several points in this and adjoining counties, Oxford, Dover, and Cambridge, among them. His ships traded in Choptank, Saint Michaels and Wye Rivers. He was at one time, perhaps more than once, in Talbot, and in the year 1748 he formed a copartnership with Mr. James Dickinson, settled at Dover, between whom, and the Bacons there was some relationship through marriage. After closing his business in Maryland Mr. Anthony Bacon engaged in mining in Gla- morganshire, Wales. Between his Maryland trade and his Welsh mining he achieved a great fortune, and was knighted. [This is upon the authority of Mr. John Bozman Kerr.] He wrote and published in 1775 a small book entitled "A short address to the Government, the Merchants, Manufacturers and Colonists in America and the Sugar Islands." He died without children.
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These accompanied him upon his voyage to America, and in a new country they were neither burdens upon his energy nor impediments to his usefulness.
Mr. Bacon arrived at Oxford, in this county, in October of the year 1745, not improbably a passenger upon one of the ships of his brother, Mr. Anthony Bacon. He did not come as among entire strangers. As before mentioned his brother was maintaining intimate commercial intercourse with the people of Talbot, and had himself at one time been a resident of the county. His agents were established wherever tobacco was to be bought and goods sold advantageously. To these agents and correspondents the Rev. Mr. Bacon doubtless brought letters of introduction from his brother. But at Oxford he met with a fellow islander, Mr. Henry Callister, for whom he brought letters from his friends in the Isle of Man and who, indeed, had had advices of Mr. Bacon's coming. This gentleman had been settled at Oxford since 1742, as a subfactor under Mr. Robert Morris, the chief factor for Maryland, of Messrs. Foster, Cunliffe & Company, merchants of Liverpool. Though occupying this subordinate yet entirely respec- table position, out of which he arose at a Jater day, Mr. Callister was a man of repute and influence by reason of his high intelligence and his strong traits of character. It was his custom to copy the letters which he addressed to the firm of which he was agent as well as many of those written to his friends and kinsmen in England or America. Fortunately the large collection of these letters, covering a period of more than twenty years, from 1742 to 1765, has escaped destruction, and is now in a position where it may be consulted by the curious. Mr. Callister was very evidently a man of superior education and accomplishments; and being fond of using his pen, his letters are something more than the formal statements of a merchant's clerk, or the trivial communications of an absent kinsman to his family at home. They are written with no inconsiderable literary skill, while they make most interesting references to men and things in this and the adjoining counties with the writer's comments thereon. Among the persons men- tioned was Mr. Bacon, with whom he was upon terms of intimacy and good fellowship from the date of his arrival and for many years after. A common origin, being both from the Isle of Man, and common tastes, being both fond of books and of music, drew these two persons together, though differences in religious and political sentiment tended to divide them, Mr. Bacon being a churchman and tory while Mr. Callister was sceptic and whig. As these letters give much information of him with
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whom this contribution is concerned, which can be obtained from no other source, they will be freely used.4
The earliest of these that mention Mr. Bacon is one addressed to his brother, Mr. Hugh Callister, written at Oxford, and dated July 28th, 1744. In this letter he says:
This Mr. Bacon, you speak of, I suppose is brother to Mr. Anthony Bacon, who kept a store on this river, and is now a merchant in Lon- don, for I heard that one Bacon, a brother of his in Dublin, who wrote a book of rates, is expected in this country, after getting orders in Lon- don, to be inducted parson of our parish, and that he had another brother in Dublin, who kept a coffee house.
This letter was written, therefore, before Mr. Bacon's arrival in Mary- land; but another bearing the date of November 5th, 1744, and ad- dressed to Mr. Tear of Douglas, in the Isle of Man, contains this pas- sage:
I should have passed for a tip-top musician if the Reverend Mr. Bacon had not come in. He handed me your letter and some others from Douglas. Immediately upon his landing, he found the way to our house and stayed with me about half a day. He has been to see us several times, and at our parish church he has given several sermons, which have got the better of most of the audience. There are a few blockheads who have aspersed him and his wife's characters, but as he will always be known to the best people, what the fools say will not hurt him. He is a very agreeable companion, and a sober and a learned man. His performances on the violin and violincello, have afforded us much delight, and his conversation as much. I have a pretty set of music and he has a better. We have a brute of a parson5 here in our
4 This collection of several hundred letters is now in the possession of the Diocese of Maryland, and it is through the courtesy of Dr. E. A. Dalrymple, the Curator of the Archives of that Diocese, that the writer has been permitted to consult them. They are interesting and valuable as affording information of the state of society in this and the adjoining counties, but more particularly of the condition and character of trade, domestic and foreign, during the time which they cover.
5 At the date mentioned the rector of the parish of St. Peter was the venerable and excellent Mr. Daniel Manadier, a French Huguenot. His age and infirmities required that he should have a curate, and the person acting in this capacity for him, and to whom Mr. Callister refers was the notorious Nathaniel Whittaker, very justly characterized as "a brute of a parson," for he was a drunk- ard, a gambler and a quarrelsome fellow. He was dismissed by Mr. Manadier at the urgent request of his vestry; but he seems to have been in such favor with Governor Bladen as to be appointed by him rector of Westminster parish in Anne Arundel county. While there he was publicly whipped by a lady, as is recorded
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parish, and the vestry and people would gladly turn him out and make room for Mr. Bacon, but the latter will not be concerned, as he com- passionates the other's misfortunes. We shall prevail on him at last to accept a good salary. The ordinary salary would not be much, but the extraordinary subscriptions he would get, if he should stay with us, would be worth his while. He has in a very little time got the esteem of our best people. He is still a neighbor, but I am afraid he will leave us as soon as a vacancy in some other part of the province offers for him.
On the 12th of November, only seven days after the writing of the letter to Mr. Tear, Mr. Callister wrote to his brother Ewan Callister, of Douglas, in these words:
I received with pleasure yours of the 18th June, which was handed me by the Rev'd Mr. Thomas Bacon, whom, I am in great hopes, we shall retain among us. He is very much esteemed by the best of our people, and almost universally he is esteemed a clever fellow, and I believe a good man. We have had several concerts together, and may have fre- quent opportunities to divert ourselves in that way. He is received as curate of this parish, and is allowed by the parson, who is an invalid 20,000 lbs. of tobacco per annum, with perquisites which may amount to 5 or 6,000 more, which is a very good living; and when the old parson dies, which he will in a very little time, I hope he will get the berth. It is about 50,000 lbs. of tobacco per annum, which is worth in the coun- try one year with another £500 paper, or 250 £ sterling: and as par- sons are allowed to trade with their tobacco, if he will ship it to England, it may produce as much more per annum.
These letters of Mr. Callister are so explicit that they need no comment nor elucidation. They serve to indicate with precision the time of Mr. Bacon's arrival at Oxford, the cordiality of his reception, not only by those for whom he brought letters, but by the people in general, the esti- mate that was placed upon his abilities as a preacher, and his social qualities, and finally of his installation as the curate of Mr. Manadier in St. Peter's parish. This gentleman who was far advanced in years, and had long been incapacitated for the full performance of his ministerial functions, and who, in truth, never had been efficient or acceptable as a preacher, though he commended himself by an exemplary life, died February 23d, 1745. The Lord Proprietary of the province enjoyed advowsons of all the parishes, and in his absence the Governor for the
in the old Maryland Gazette, in the following terms: "We read that at a county court held here the 9th of July of this year (1749) a Mrs. S. C., of Patapsco, was fined the sum of one penny for whipping the Rev. Mr. N-1 W-r with a hic- cory switch, it being imagined by the court that he well deserved it." He died in jail in Somerset county in 1766.
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time being exercised the prerogative of presentation to livings. Accord- ingly, it is found, that immediately after the death of Mr. Manadier, Governor Bladen, doubtless by the direct command of Lord Baltimore, previously made known, and at the request of the vestry, issued letters of induction to Mr. Bacon. At a meeting of the vestry held March 18th, 1745, he presented these letters and also his certificates of ordination; whereupon, by a unanimous vote of the vestrymen and church wardens he was accepted as rector of St. Peter's parish, and his papers were ordered to be placed upon record; which was accordingly done, and there they may be seen to this day.6
The satisfaction which Mr. Bacon had given while acting in the subordinate capacity of curate continued after he had been promoted to the rectorship. A letter of Mr. Callister to Mr. William Henderson, of Ramsey, in the Isle of Man, dated Aug. 21, 1746, says:
I presume you have been acquainted on the Island with Mr. Thomas Bacon. He is now our parson, and I think him the worthiest clergyman I ever knew, not excepting the Bishop. He is a strong vindicator of T. S. M. (Thomas, Sodor and Man) and a potent advocate for him.
On the same day Mr. Callister wrote to his brother Ewan:
Mr. Bacon has since my last been inducted into the parish, and gives entire satisfaction to all his parishioners.
6 This letter of induction and these certificates of ordination (one of the last only) are here inserted as ancient documents interesting both as to matter and form.
LETTER OF INDUCTION
Maryland ss.
Thomas Bladen, Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Province of Maryland, To the Reverend Thomas Bacon, sendeth greeting: I do hereby constitute you the said Thomas Bacon to be the Rector of the church of St. Peter's parish in Talbot county, To have, hold and enjoy the said church, together with all the rights, profits and advantages whatsoever appertaining to a minister of the said parish; and do hereby require the Church Wardens, Vestry- men and all others the Parishioners of the said Parish, to receive, acknowledge and assist you, the said Thomas Bacon in all matters relating to the discharge of your function.
Given at Annapolis this third day March in the thirty-first year of his Lord- ship's dominion, Anno Domini, 1745.
T. Bladen. [Seal]
J. Ross, Cl. Con'c.
CERTIFICATE OF ORDINATION AS PRIEST
Tenore præsentium Nos, Thomas, permissione Divina, Sodor et Man Epis- copus, notium facimus universis, quod die Dominico Decimo, videlicet die mensis Martii Anno Domini milesimo septingentesimo quadragesimo quarto, et nostræ
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The following extract from a letter of Mr. Callister, written from the Head of Wye, whither he had removed, after leaving Oxford, to Mr. Tear, of Douglas, and dated Aug. 23, 1747, will testify to the contin- uance of the esteem in which Mr. Bacon was held. At this date he also had left Oxford, and had removed to Dover.
I am now removed a great way off from where I was, and so is Mr. Bacon. He has I know a great many services to send to the Island, but I cannot see him above once a month or thereabouts. I assure you he is a very considerable man here, and in great esteem with every great man from the Governor to the Parish Clerk. I am very happy in his conversa- tion and friendship, and so is every one that is acquainted with him. I have sent you enclosed a couple of his minuets, which are excellent. I had got these ready for you long ago. He had innumerable fine things, but when I think of writing them down I have not opportunity, and when I have time, I don't think of 'em.
In a letter to his brother of the same date, Mr. Callister says:
Mr. Bacon and his family are well and in great esteem. Since I removed up here they are removed from Oxford about twelve miles nearer me. I had the pleasure of entertaining them in March last, at Oxford, when Mr. B. toasted you, and Mrs. Bacon expressed with tears of gratitude, some little obligations they owed to you, which I take to be trifles; but this acknowledgment is good of her, as they are now above being obliged, in a necessary way, having a very consider- able income. T. S. M. (Bishop Wilson) and he hold strict corre- spondence.
consecrationis quadragesimo septimo, Nos, in Ecclesia parochiali Sancti Mich- ælis, sacros ordines Dei omnipotentis præsidio celebrantes, Dilectum nobis in Christo Thomam Bacon, Diaconum, in Americam transire, Deo optimo maximo favente, in animo habentem, et per Reverendi in Christo patris et confratris nostri Edmundi Londinensis Episcopi approbationem et commendationem de vita sua laudabili et moribus per literas testimoniales commendatum ac in doctrina et scientia per Examinatorem nostrum approbatum (præstito primitus per eum Juramento de supremitate Regia Majestatis agnoscenda subscriptisq articulis tribis istis in 36to Canonum Ecclesia Anglicanæ contentis) ad Sacro-sanctum Presbiteratus ordinem juxta morem et ritum Ecclesia Anglicanæ in ea parte salubriter editum et ordinatum admissimus ipsumq Thomam Bacon Presbiterium et Ministrum Verbi Dei rite et canonice ordinavimus. In cujus rei testimonium sigillum nostrum episcopalæ præsentibus apponi fecimus.
Datis apud Bishops Court undecimo die mensis Martii annisq Domini et con- secrationis nostræ prædictis. [sigillum] THO. SODOR ET MAN.
The certificate of ordination to the diaconate, was dated Sept. 23, 1744, and was in almost the same words. It therefore need not here be copied.
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Even if these written testimonials to his acceptability were wanting there are other evidences, quite as emphatic and decisive. These were the renewed interest of his people in all matters relating to the church. During the protracted infirmities of the former rector the temporal affairs of the parish had been neglected and religion itself had languished. Among the very first steps taken by him was to have the boundaries of the glebe belonging to the parish accurately defined, as the old marks had been effaced and disputes had arisen as to its limits. This glebe had been long occupied by Mr. Manadier, but it seems that Mr. Bacon had no wish to reside upon the farm, probably preferring the companion- ship, which even such small towns as Oxford afforded, to the seclusion of the country, for he was socially inclined.7 In the year following his induction measures were taken to enlarge the church for the accommo- dation of the increasing congregation. This work, which nearly doubled the capacity of the building was not completed however until 1750, when that part of White Marsh that is still standing was completed and formed the nave to the old framed church, which made, as it were, a transept or transepts to the new brick addition. Besides enlarging the parish church Mr. Bacon caused the Chapel of Ease, on King's creek to be renovated, and he restored the services in that place of wor- · ship which seem to have been interrupted for years before. 8
The earnestness of Mr. Bacon in promoting the spiritual interests of the people committed to his care was farther shown in his attempt to correct certain evils and malign influences by the introduction of a sound religious literature among his parishioners. A letter of his is in existence addressed to the Secretary of "the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign parts," written in 1750, in acknowledgment of the receipt of certain books sent to him for distribution. 9 This letter, besides exhibiting Mr. Bacon's concern for his congregation, gives a vivid pic-
7 This property which was once the glebe of St. Peter's parish is still known as the Manadier farm, and lies not far from old White Marsh Church.
8 Mr. Allen is in error in his statement that the Chapel of Ease of St. Peters parish was erected during Mr. Bacon's incumbency. It was built many years, at least fourteen before his institution. The parish records indicate that church services were held there by him as early as 1749; but they give no indication of their celebration for a long time previous to that date.
9 The writer of this contribution has in his possession one of the identical books sent out by the Society. Inscribed are these words: "A Present from the Society for promoting the Gospel in Foreign parts to Mr. Robt. Lloyd, by the hands of the Rev'd Thomas Bacon." Mr. Lloyd must have been sadly in want of literary pabulum if he ever read this book, for it is insufferably dreary.
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