Nathaniel Bacon (Michigan jurist)

Bacon was born at Ballston Spa, New York.^[2][3] He graduated from Union College in 1824.^[4] He was admitted to the bar in 1827 and in 1828 opened law offices in Rochester, New York.^[2][3] In 1833, he moved to Niles, Michigan.^[2] Bacon served as a prosecutor and a probate judge of Berrien County from 1833-1855.^[3] In 1851, Nathaniel Bacon ran for attorney general of Michigan on the Whig ticket^[5] but lost to William Hale.^[6]

In 1855, Bacon was appointed as judge of the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit by Governor Bingham to replace Charles W. Whipple, which also made him part of the Michigan Supreme Court.^[3] The court was reorganized in 1858.^[2] In 1857, elections were held for a new separate Supreme Court, but Bacon did not run.^[3] He continued serving as circuit judge until 1863, and then again from 1867 to 1869.^[3] He was still serving on the second circuit at the time of his death.^[7][8][3]

He was a member of the Whig Party^[5] and the Republican Party.^[3] He held antislavery views.^[3] He married Jane S. Sweetman in 1827 and had two sons with her.^[2] He married his second wife, Caroline S. Lord, in 1845.^[9]