The Reverend Thomas Bacon, one of colonial Maryland's most prolific authors, is remembered today primarily for his sermons on charity schools and the education of slaves, and for his compilation Laws of Maryland At Large ... (1765). In his own day he was also known as a poet of modest abilities, a political essayist worthy of defending Lord Baltimore's proprietary party against Franklin's attacks, and an outstanding musician.

Other than the fact that he was raised in Ireland (perhaps Dublin, where his brother, Anthony Bacon, M.P., attended Trinity College), little is known about Bacon's early life. Records show that he was working for the Custom House in Dublin by 1737 and that he began publishing the Dublin Mercury, a biweekly newspaper, by 23 January 1742. By 27 September 1742, Bacon was printing the official newspaper of Ireland, the Dublin Gazette, which he published only until 12 July 1743, when he began preparing for the ministry.

Following...