Leonard Woolsey Bacon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1830-01-01)January 1, 1830 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | May 12, 1907(1907-05-12) (aged 77) Assonet, Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Grove Street Cemetery |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupation(s) | Clergyman, writer |
Leonard Woolsey Bacon (January 1, 1830 – May 12, 1907[1][2]) was an Americanclergyman, born inNew Haven, Connecticut. He was a social commentator and a prolific author on religious, social, and historical matters. In social, political, and religious issues of his times, he often broke with the traditions of his countrymen, sometimes causing "great sensation."[3]
Leonard Woolsey Bacon was a son of theCongregationalist preacherLeonard Bacon, a brother ofGeorge B. Bacon ofOrange, New Jersey,[4] andEdward Woolsey Bacon,[5] and a half-brother ofThomas Rutherford Bacon of New Haven, Connecticut,[6][7] all Congregational preachers. He graduated fromYale University in 1850, and in 1856 was ordained inLitchfield. He was alsopastor of the First Church inStamford, Connecticut (1862–65), and of the New England Congregational Church inBrooklyn, New York (1865–70).[8]
Subsequently, he spent several years in Europe, chiefly inGeneva, as a student, preacher, and writer; in Geneva he spent part of his time preaching to "Americans sojourning there."[4] From 1878 to 1882 he was pastor of the Park Congregational Church inNorwich, Connecticut, and later of other Congregational and Presbyterian churches. In 1887, he was the pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church inSavannah, Georgia.[9] In 1898, he was pastor of the First Church inLitchfield, Connecticut.[10] He was pastor of the North Church inAssonet, Massachusetts beginning in 1901, and authored a history of the churches ofFreetown, Massachusetts in 1902.[11] He died at Assonet, May 12, 1907, and was buried in Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut.
Bacon evidently enjoyed getting involved in contemporary issues, such as divorce,temperance, Sunday rest, and the public conduct of officers of the United States armed forces. In many of these matters, however, he displayed a reluctance to impose religious views. When, in 1880, he wrote an open letter toThe New York Times complaining about a steamboat company that evaded Connecticut'sblue laws, he made it clear that laws mandating Sunday as a mandatory day of rest were not to be construed as endorsing any particular religion or discriminating "in favor of church-going."[12]
Bacon appeared to have had a habit of causing controversy. In 1884, for instance, he felt compelled, in another letter to theTimes, to state that contrary to reports he wasnot in favor of "a uniform, universal divorce law throughout the States."[13] In 1887, when he was the pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, he caused a stir by publicly declaring that he favored mixed (black and white) schools and that he would not mind his daughter being seen walking with anAfrican American or even marrying one.[3]
In 1898, as pastor in Litchfield, Connecticut, he wrote a letter published inThe New York Times chastising CaptainRobley Dunglison Evans (known as "Fighting Bob"), later admiral in theUnited States Navy, for boasting and profanity.[10] Evidently this was part of a feud of sorts; theChicago Daily Tribune reported on the news saying that Bacon "again fell foul" of "Fighting Bob" with his "sarcastic letter."[14]
Bacon editedLuther's Deutsche geistliche Lieder ("German Hymns") (New York, 1883), and wrote a number of historical and other books.
Bacon republished, with commentary, the speech ofPeter Richard Kenrick, Archbishop of St. Louis, given in 1871 at theFirst Vatican Council; Kenrick spoke out against thedogma ofpapal infallibility. The booklet contains Kenrick's speech and other historical documents, as well as Bacon's own "acute and valuable remarks."[15]
HisChurch Papers: Sundry Essays on Subjects Relating to the Church and Christian Society (1877), written while Bacon was in Geneva, was praised in theNew Englander and Yale Review as a "juicy little volume"; the reviewer hailed the merit and attractiveness of the essays, which are "the product of sound reflection, and of a familiarity not only with books, but with men and things."[4] He discusses such matters as the drawbacks of Congregationalism, which may allow for fallacious decisions by a random majority, and theTemperance movement, and the principles and methods of its zealous advocates.[4]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Bacon, Leonard Woolsey".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 178.