John Thomson Mason (15 March 1765 – 10 December 1824) was an American lawyer and

Attorney General of Maryland The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qual ...

in 1806.

Early life

Mason was born on 15 March 1765 at

Chopawamsic Chopawamsic Island is one of the few islands in the Potomac River within the territorial boundaries of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is on the west side of the river next to Marine Corps Base Quantico about 30 miles south of Washington. Histo ...

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is approximately south of Washington, D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest-growing and highest-income counties in ...

. He was the third child and youngest son of

Thomson Mason Thomson Mason (14 August 173326 February 1785) was an American lawyer, planter and jurist. A younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, Thomson Mason w ...

and his wife Mary King Barnes.

Education

Early career

Mason operated a plantation in what was then

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 154,705 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Hagerstown, Maryland, Hagerstown. The ...

near Elizabethtown (now

Hagerstown Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's sixth-most populous incorporated city and is the most populous city in the ...

using enslaved labor.The Library of Virginia has a slave importation certificate recorded in Frederick County, Maryland on 3 March 1794 https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990005037370205756&context=L&vid=01LVA_INST:01LVA&lang=en&search_scope=MyInstitution_noAER&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=any,contains,mason,%20thomson&offset=0 Admitted to the Maryland bar, he attained high rank, but twice declined the office of

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

when it was offered by

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

and

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. He then served as

in 1806. He was also one of six judges appointed to a newly restructured court of appeals by Governor

Robert Bowie Robert Bowie (March 1750 – January 8, 1818) was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States, from 1803 to 1806, and from 1811 to 1812. He was the third child born to Captain William ...

on 19 January 1806, but declined the appointment.

John Thomas Scharf John Thomas Scharf (May 1, 1843 – February 28, 1898) was an American historian, author, journalist, antiquarian, politician, lawyer and Confederate States of America soldier and sailor. He is best known for his published historical works. ...

,
Judges of the Court of Appeals
, ''History of Maryland from the Earliest Period to the Present Day'' (1879), p. 773. Mason ran for one of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

's seats in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1816, but lost.

Marriages and children

Mason married Elizabeth Beltzhoover in 1797. He and Elizabeth had seven children: *Mary Barnes Mason Winter (c. 1800–11 May 1844) *Elizabeth Ann Armistead Thomson Mason Wharton (4 April 1803–20 January 1857) *Abram Barnes Mason Barnes (21 October 1807–10 April 1863) *Melchior Beltzhoover Mason (born 3 October 1812) * John Thomson Mason, Jr. (9 May 1815–28 March 1873) *Thomson Mason (15 July 1818–1848) *Virginia Wallace Mason (16 April 1820–6 October 1858)

Later life

Mason died on 10 December 1824 at the age of 59. Mason was interred at his Montpelier estate in Clear Spring, Maryland.

Relations

John Thomson Mason was a nephew of

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

(1725–1792); son of

(1733–1785); brother of

Stevens Thomson Mason Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's a ...

(1760–1803); half-brother of

William Temple Thomson Mason William Temple Thomson Mason (July 24, 1782 – 1862) was a Virginia farmer and businessman. Early life William Temple Thomson Mason was born on July 24, 1782, at Raspberry Plain. "Temple", as his family called him, was Thomson Mason's third c ...

(1782–1862); first cousin of

George Mason V George Mason V (April 30, 1753December 5, 1796) was an American planter, businessman, and militia officer. Mason was the eldest son of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, George ...

(1753–1796); first cousin once removed of

Thomson Francis Mason Thomson Francis Mason (1785 – 21 December 1838) was an American lawyer, planter and politician who served as the Mayor of Alexandria, D.C. between 1827 and 1830, and as a justice of the peace for many years and briefly in the months before his ...

(1785–1838),

George Mason VI The Mason family of Virginia is a historically significant American political family of English origin, whose prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics, business, and the military. The progenitor of the Mason family, Georg ...

(1786–1834),

Richard Barnes Mason Richard Barnes Mason (January 16, 1797July 25, 1850) was an American military officer who was a career officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a state. He came from a politically promine ...

(1797–1850), and

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician who became a Confederate diplomat. He served as U.S. Senator from Virginia for fourteen years, having previously represented Virginia's 15th congression ...

(1798–1871); uncle of

Armistead Thomson Mason Armistead Thomson Mason (August 4, 1787February 6, 1819) was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817. Mason was also the second-youngest person to ever serve in the US Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 months, even though the age requirement f ...

(1787–1819) and

John Thomson Mason John Thomson Mason (15 March 1765 – 10 December 1824) was an American lawyer and Attorney General of Maryland in 1806. Early life Mason was born on 15 March 1765 at Chopawamsic (plantation), Chopawamsic in Stafford County, Virginia. He wa ...

(1787–1850); father of

John Thomson Mason Jr. John Thomson Mason Jr. (May 9, 1815 – March 28, 1873) was a U.S. Congressman from Maryland, representing the sixth district from 1841 to 1843. Early life and education Born at the Montpelier estate near Hagerstown, Maryland, Mason was educ ...

(1815–1873); and great uncle of

(1811–1843).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, John Thomson 01 1765 births 1824 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians American people of English descent American planters American slave owners Maryland attorneys general Maryland lawyers Mason family People from Stafford County, Virginia United States attorneys for the District of Columbia