Stephen Bacon (1677-1766)

Stephen Bacon was born on 21 Aug 1677 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, as the ninth child of John Bacon and Rebecca Hall. He had eight siblings, namely: Mary, John, Rebecca, Daniel, Sarah, Samuel, Thomas, and Susanna.

When he was 26, he married Mary Loker, daughter of John Loker and Sarah Rice, on 06 Jan 1703/04 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Stephen Bacon and Mary Loker had the following children:

1. Sarah Bacon was born on 17 Sep 1704 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She married Theoder Rider on 18 May 1726 at Sherborn, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
2. Mary Bacon was born on 20 Mar 1708 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts. She married Ebenezer Felch on 15 May 1728 in Massachusetts.
3. Stephen Bacon was born on 11 Apr 1713 in Needham, Norfolk, Massachusetts. He died on 02 Jan 1780.
4. Henry Bacon was born in Needham, Norfolk, Massachusetts. He married Mary Gay on 07 Nov 1744 in Wrentham, Norfolk, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Underwood on 05 Apr 1764 in Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He died on 21 Jan 1803.
5. John Bacon was born on 30 May 1721 in Needham, Norfolk, Massachusetts (Suffolk County). He married Abigail Sawin on 24 May 1744 in Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He died on 19 Apr 1775 in Arlington, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Then called Menotomy).

Mary and Stephen Bacon started their married life in Sudbury, but then moved to Dedham, and finally settled in Needham, Massachusetts. Needham was incorporated in 1711, about the time the Bacon family arrived. The part of Needham where they lived, called “the Needham Leg,” was closer to Natick than to Needham, so Stephen and others tried to have their property annexed to the town of Natick. Back then, there was no separation of Church and State. Where you lived determined which church you needed to attend. Taxes were collected to pay for the minister, the minister’s house and property, and for the church. So, these families, who lived nearer to the meeting house in Natick than to the meeting house in Needham, wanted the boundaries to be changed so that they could attend church in Natick and have their tax dollars go there instead of to Needham. The dispute continued for almost sixty years and wasn’t completely settled until after Stephen was deceased.

During the French and Indian Wars (1754-1763), the Leg or West End did become a part of Natick. Stephen was in his late 70’s by then. The address of the Stephen Bacon house, which still stands, is 105 North Main Street, Natick, Massachusetts. The house, a residence and funeral home, is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The oldest part of the 2 1/2-story timber-frame house is the front left side. It was build in the early 1700’s. The right side of the house and a rear leanto were added later. The Town of Natick’s first school classes were held in this house.

Natick, MA 01760

Stephen Bacon died on 08 Feb 1766 in Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He was 88-years old at the time of his death.

Where is he in the tree?

Selected Sources and Links:

Ancestry.com. History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needha [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Clarke, George Kuhn,. History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911 : including West Needham, now the town of Wellesley, to its separation from Needham in 1881, with some references to its affairs to 1911. Cambridge Mass.: Priv. print. at the University Press, c1912.

Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data – Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).Original data: Town and C), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Record for Stephen Bacon.

“Massachusetts – Middlesex County,” National Register of Historic Places, Web, 20 Aug 2017, http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ma/middlesex/state.html.

“Meetinghouse Dispute,” The Natick Historical Society, Web, 20 Aug 2017, http://natickhistoricalsociety.org/meetinghouse/.

“Stephen Bacon House,” Wikipedia, Web, 20 Aug 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bacon_House.

“Vinyl windows on Natick’s Bacon House must look ‘historic,’” 30 Jun 2010, Web, 20 Aug 2017, http://natick.wickedlocal.com/x41612221/Vinyl-windows-on-Naticks-Bacon-House-must-look-historic.