| WOODSON COUNTIES, KANSAS. | 459 cont'd |
GEORGE H. BACON.
GEORGE H. BACON was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, on Christmas day of 1827, his parents being Henry H. and Lois (Mill) Bacon, also natives of that state. The son spent the first fifteen years of his life in the place of his nativity. His lather died in Connecticut in 1840, at the age of forty-six years, and in 1842 he accompanied his mother
| 460 | HISTORY OF ALLEN AND |
on her removal to Indiana. Throughout her remaining days he cared for her, and she departed this life at his home in Kansas in 1874 when eighty-nine years of age.
While in Indiana George H. Bacon learned the trade of cloth dressing, which he followed for seven years. In 1853 he and his mother removed to Illinois, where he engaged in farming. His first work was at the carpenter's trade, which he followed for eighteen months, and from his earnings he saved three hundred dollars. He then visited New Orleans, but returning to Illinois worked on a farm for nine months, after which he purchased eighty acres of land, devoting his energies to its cultivation. In that enterprise he met with gratifying success.
In 1853 Mr. Bacon was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. F. Ridge, a native of Indiana, and in Illinois they resided until 1873 when they came to Kansas, Mr. Bacon purchasing two hundred acres of land in Elsmore township, where he has since resided. He has made splendid improvements upon his farm and has a very desirable property. In 1895 Mrs. Bacon died at the age of sixty-four years. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom are now living, namely: Charles W., who resides on a farm in Elsmore township; John E., of LaHarpe; Ella L., wife of Wesley Jones; Mary F., wife of C. S. Cox; Laura Kate, wife of E. W. Myler, of Burlingame, Kansas; Lizzie H., wife of B. F. Low, and Frank M., an adopted son.
Mr. Bacon has always been a strong temperance man and now has in his possession a pledge which he signed September 16, 1841, when fourteen years of age, and giving the names of the president and secretary of the organization. Prior to the war he was a supporter of the Abolition party and on its organization he joined the Republican party, with which he has since affiliated. His life has been one of marked industry. A glance at his farm will indicate his careful supervision and progressive methods. He has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey, and in the evening of life he receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded those whose record is an upright one.
Pages 459-460, transcribed by Carolyn Ward from History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas: embellished with portraits of well known people of these counties, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county / Edited and Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan and Chas. F. Scott. Iola Registers, Printers and Binders, Iola, Kan.: 1901; 894 p., [36] leaves of plates: ill., ports.; includes index.
