Francis M. Bacon
Francis McNeil Bacon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 21, 1912 (aged 77) Ridgefield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, Manufacturer |
| Known for | Woolen goods manufacturing and banking |
Francis McNeil Bacon (born June 27, 1835 – died September 21, 1912) was a prominent American banker and manufacturer specializing in woolen goods.
Early life
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on June 27, 1835, Bacon was the firstborn of Lory Baldwin Bacon and Sarah Ann (Hammond) Bacon. His lineage included Rufus Bacon from Sutton, Massachusetts, who served in the Revolutionary War militia. The family heritage dates back to English settlers who arrived in Massachusetts during the early 1600s. He completed his education at Boston High School in 1853.
Career
Following his graduation, Bacon relocated to New York City to pursue a career in the dry goods sector. By 1860, he had secured a partnership with Hurlbert, Von Volkenburgh & Co., and the subsequent year he founded his own enterprise, Francis M. Bacon & Co. Due to health concerns, he temporarily moved to California in 1862. In 1873, he launched Haines, Bacon & Co., a woolen commission merchant firm. This business transitioned into Bacon, Baldwin & Co. by 1877 and was later renamed Bacon & Co. after Baldwin's passing in 1892, operating from 92 Franklin Street in New York.
Bacon also held trustee positions at the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company and the Seamen's Bank for Savings, alongside directorships at the Metropolitan Trust Company and the National City Bank of New York.
Personal life
On November 24, 1862, he married Margaret Rogers Gray, daughter of Rev. Frederick Turell Gray of King's Chapel, Boston. The couple had five children: Francis McNiel Bacon Jr.; Margaret Gray Bacon, who married Clinton Gilbert; James Frederick Bacon, an alumnus of Columbia University; Elizabeth Chapman Bacon, who died young; and Rogers Hammond Bacon, a Harvard Law School graduate. After Margaret's death in 1876, Bacon remarried in 1879 to Katherine Paris Storrow, with whom he had one son named Wentworth Cruger Bacon.
He was a member of several esteemed New York organizations such as the Century Association, Union Club, Union League Club, Players Club, Merchants Club, Church Club, and Sons of the Revolution. His residence was located at 20 West 10th Street in New York City.
Bacon passed away following a lengthy illness on September 21, 1912, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. His funeral service took place at Manhattan’s Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion.
Descendants
Among his grandchildren through his eldest son Francis were Francis McNeil Bacon III—who wedded photographer Antoinette Wood Frissell in 1932—and Pauline Bacon, who married attorney Harold Edward Herrick in 1918.
External links
- Portrait of Mrs. Francis McNeil Bacon Jr., Pauline Post Bacon—Bacon’s daughter-in-law—at the New-York Historical Society
- Portrait of Mrs. Ralph G. Miller (ca. 1875-1952), Alice Lee Miller Bacon—Bacon’s daughter-in-law—at the New-York Historical Society