NATHANIEL BACON.
Nathaniel Bacon, Senior, of the lineage of the celebrated Francis
Bacon, Lord Verulam, and a cousin of Nathaniel Bacon, Junior, known
in history as "the rebel," was born in 1620. He was prominent in the
affairs of the Colony, and held various offices of distinction and trust.
He was County-Lieutenant, or "Commander-in-Chief" of the County
of York; long the auditor of the Colony, and, as his epitaph recites,
a member of the Council "for above forty years." As President of
the body, he was the acting Governor of Virginia from the departure
of Lord Effingham, October 20, 1688, until the arrival of Francis
Nicholson, October 16, 1690. He died March 16, 1693. His wife
was Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Kingsmell, a name corruptly
perpetuated in Kingsmill Wharf, York County, James River. The
tombs of Nathaniel Bacon and his wife, massive marble tablets with
armorial insignia, remained a few years since in the ancient burial
ground near the mouth of King's Creek, York County.
Nathaniel Bacon, Senior, bequeathed his estate to his niece Abigail
(nee Smith), wife of Major Lewis Burwell, as he left no issue. But
of his chivalric kinsman, "the rebel," there are claimed representative
descendants of the present generation.
