The Mason family of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

is a historically significant American

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

of English origin, whose prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics, business, and the military. The

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

of the Mason family, George Mason I (1629–1686), arrived at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

on the ship ''Assurance'' in 1652. Mason was a

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

member of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

during the reign of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

. George Mason I's great-grandson was

George Mason IV 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 wri ...

(1725–1792), an American patriot, statesman, and delegate from

to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Along with

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 ...

, George Mason IV is known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights." For these reasons, Mason is considered one of the "

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

" of the United States and raised the Mason family to national political prominence. George Mason II (1660–1716) and his son

George Mason III George Mason III (1690March 5, 1735) was an American planter, military officer, legislator and government official. Although he repeatedly won election to represent Stafford County in the then-one-house Virginia General Assembly, he may today be ...

(1690–1735) both served as a member of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

, Stafford County sheriff, Stafford County county lieutenant, Stafford County militia colonel, planters, and

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

s. George Mason III's son and George Mason IV's younger brother, Thomson Mason (1733–1785), was a patriot, statesman, and delegate from

to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Thomson Mason's son, Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803) served as a colonel in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, a member of the

state legislature, and as a Republican

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Virginia (1794–1803). Another of Thomson Mason's sons,

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 ...

(1765–1824) was a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

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. Thomson Mason's grandson

(1787–1850) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

United States marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

, Secretary of

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. His son Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843), was also territorial governor of the

, and later governor of the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He was first appointed acting Territorial Secretary at the age of 19, then became acting Territorial Governor in 1834 at the age of 22. George Mason IV's grandson

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) was a

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

and

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

and represented the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to Great Britain and France between 1861 and 1865 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Notable members of the Mason family

* George Mason I (1629–1686) ** George Mason II (1660–1716) ***

(1690–1735) ****

(1725–1792) ***** George Mason V (1753–1796) ****** George Mason VI (1786–1834)leased "Spring Bank" to Alexandria slavetrader John Armfield, per Joshua D. Rothman, The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America (New York: Basic Books 2021) p. 228 ******* George Thomson Mason (1818–1846) ****** Richard Barnes Mason (1797–1850) *****

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

(1757–1818) ***** Thomson Mason (1759–1820) ****** Thomson Francis Mason (1785–1838) ******* Arthur Pendleton Mason (1835–1893) ****** Richard Chichester Mason (1793–1869) ******* Beverley Randolph Mason (1834–1910) ******** Richard Nelson Mason (1876–1940) ******* Langdon Randolph Mason (1841–1923) ******** Lucy Randolph Mason (1882–1959) *******

William Pinckney Mason William Pinckney Mason (10 January 1843 – 16 December 1922) was a lieutenant in the Confederate States Navy, ultimately serving as commander of several ironclad gunboats. Mason was a great-grandson of George Mason, author of the Virginia Bi ...

(1843–1923) ***** John Mason (1766–1849) ******

(1798–1871) ****** Anne Maria Mason Lee (1811–1898) ******* Fitzhugh Lee (1835–1905) ***** Thomas Mason (1770–1800) **** Thomson Mason (1733–1785) ***** Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803) ******

(1787–1850) ******* Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843) ******* Catherine Armistead Mason Rowland (1818–1884) ******** Kate Mason Rowland (1840–1916) ****** Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819) *****

(1765–1824) ****** John Thomson Mason Jr. (1815–1873) ***** William Temple Thomson Mason (1782–1862)

References

{{Authority control Business families of the United States Political families of the United States American families of English ancestry Families from Virginia Families from Maryland