John Thomson Mason (1787–1850)
Encyclopedia
John Thomson Mason was an American lawyer
, United States marshal
, Secretary of Michigan Territory
from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution
.
near Leesburg
in Loudoun County
, Virginia. He was eldest child and eldest son of Stevens Thomson Mason
, Republican
U.S. Senator from Virginia, and his wife Mary Elizabeth Armistead.
Mason was educated at Charlotte Hall Military Academy
in Charlotte Hall
, St. Mary's County, Maryland
and at William and Mary College in Williamsburg
, Virginia.
to attempt making his own fortunes in Lexington
, Kentucky
. In 1817, President James Monroe
appointed Mason United States marshal
. Mason was appointed Secretary of Michigan Territory
and superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson
. He held those appointments until 1831, when President Jackson sent Mason on a mission to Mexico
. To fill his post as Secretary of Michigan Territory, President Jackson appointed Mason's son Stevens
. Stevens later became the first Governor of Michigan
on 6 October 1835.
and Washington, D.C.
In 1830, Mason became a scripholder for the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in New York. The land company's purpose was to assume the land holdings of Texas empresarios Lorenzo de Zavala
, David G. Burnet
, and Joseph Vehlein which comprised approximately 20 million acres (80,937.2 km²). Mason became a confidential land agent for the land company in 1831. While in Mexico City
on the land company's behalf, Mason discovered that the Law of April 6, 1830 prevented the transfer of Mexican land to foreign companies. On a subsequent trip to Mexico City in 1833, Mason was able to secure a repeal of the law's stipulation that forbade colonization in Mexico from the United States. Once he accomplished this, Mason resigned from the land company to promote his personal Texas landholdings. Mason continued to expand his landholdings by purchasing 300 leagues from the Mexican government and 100 leagues from individual landholders. To manage his land holdings, Mason employed John Charles Leplicher in New York
as his land office clerk and Archibald Hotchkiss as his attorney.
Mason's prosperous land business was soon compromised when his large land grants were cancelled by the Provisional government of Texas. The revolutionary government repudiated the sales of land made in 1834 by the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas
, going so far as to name Mason's contract as annulled by them in the First Texan Constitution
. His attorney Leplicher then filed suit against Mason in Nacogdoches
on 16 February 1835 for alleged unpaid salary. Mason was made commandant of the Nacogdoches District by the Committee of Vigilance and Safety on 11 April 1836 only to resign twelve days later. Mason remained in Nacogdoches for most of the duration of the Texas Revolution. Mason continued to support the Texas Revolution by paying $1,000 for the schooner
Liberty
for the Texas Navy
and advancing $500 for the expenses of the schooner Brutus
. On 2 March 1836, the Republic of Texas
declared its independence and organized a government. The following year, Mason attended a session of Congress of the Republic of Texas
in Houston
, the capital of Texas.
, but returned to Texas multiple times during the 1840s. He traveled to Texas for the last time in 1849. Mason died of cholera
on 3 May 1850 at Tremont House in Galveston
.
, Virginia
on 9 February 1809. The couple had at least eleven children:
Mason married for a second time to Frances Magruder in Baltimore, Maryland
on 29 June 1845.
(1725–1792); grandson of Thomson Mason
(1733–1785); son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Armistead Mason (1760–1825) and Stevens Thomson Mason
(1760–1803); nephew of John Thomson Mason
(1765–1824); second cousin of Thomson Francis Mason
(1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); brother-in-law of William Taylor Barry
(1784–1835); brother of Armistead Thomson Mason
(1787–1819); uncle of Stevens Thomson Mason
(1811–1843); and first cousin of John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873).
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, United States marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
, Secretary of Michigan Territory
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...
from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
.
Early life and education
Mason was born on 8 January 1787 at Raspberry PlainRaspberry Plain
Raspberry Plain is a historic property and former plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Leesburg. Raspberry Plain was one of the principal Mason family estates of Northern Virginia.- History :...
near Leesburg
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
in Loudoun County
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, Virginia. He was eldest child and eldest son of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)
Stevens Thomson Mason was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a member of the Virginia state legislature and a Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia .-Early life and military career:...
, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
U.S. Senator from Virginia, and his wife Mary Elizabeth Armistead.
Mason was educated at Charlotte Hall Military Academy
Charlotte Hall Military Academy
Charlotte Hall Military Academy, located at Charlotte Hall, Maryland, was established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte to provide for the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties for the United States...
in Charlotte Hall
Charlotte Hall, Maryland
Charlotte Hall is a census-designated place in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,214 at the 2000 census. The Maryland Veterans Home for disabled veterans, including a U.S. Veterans Affairs clinic, is located on the site of the former Charlotte Hall Military Academy...
, St. Mary's County, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and at William and Mary College in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia.
Political appointee
In 1812, Mason left his family stronghold of Northern VirginiaNorthern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
to attempt making his own fortunes in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. In 1817, President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
appointed Mason United States marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
. Mason was appointed Secretary of Michigan Territory
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...
and superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
. He held those appointments until 1831, when President Jackson sent Mason on a mission to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. To fill his post as Secretary of Michigan Territory, President Jackson appointed Mason's son Stevens
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
. Stevens later became the first Governor of Michigan
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
on 6 October 1835.
Land agent and revolutionary
Afterwards, Mason resided principally in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 1830, Mason became a scripholder for the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in New York. The land company's purpose was to assume the land holdings of Texas empresarios Lorenzo de Zavala
Lorenzo de Zavala
Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz was a 19th-century Mexican politician. He served as finance minister under President Vicente Guerrero. A colonizer and statesman, he was also the interim Vice President of the Republic of Texas, serving under interim President David G...
, David G. Burnet
David G. Burnet
David Gouverneur Burnet was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas , second Vice President of the Republic of Texas , and Secretary of State for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.Burnet was born in Newark,...
, and Joseph Vehlein which comprised approximately 20 million acres (80,937.2 km²). Mason became a confidential land agent for the land company in 1831. While in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on the land company's behalf, Mason discovered that the Law of April 6, 1830 prevented the transfer of Mexican land to foreign companies. On a subsequent trip to Mexico City in 1833, Mason was able to secure a repeal of the law's stipulation that forbade colonization in Mexico from the United States. Once he accomplished this, Mason resigned from the land company to promote his personal Texas landholdings. Mason continued to expand his landholdings by purchasing 300 leagues from the Mexican government and 100 leagues from individual landholders. To manage his land holdings, Mason employed John Charles Leplicher in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as his land office clerk and Archibald Hotchkiss as his attorney.
Mason's prosperous land business was soon compromised when his large land grants were cancelled by the Provisional government of Texas. The revolutionary government repudiated the sales of land made in 1834 by the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.It had two capitals: first Saltillo, and then Monclova...
, going so far as to name Mason's contract as annulled by them in the First Texan Constitution
Constitution of the Republic of Texas
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was written in 1836 between the fall of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio and Sam Houston's stunning victory at San Jacinto. The constitution was written quickly and while on the run from Santa Anna....
. His attorney Leplicher then filed suit against Mason in Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
on 16 February 1835 for alleged unpaid salary. Mason was made commandant of the Nacogdoches District by the Committee of Vigilance and Safety on 11 April 1836 only to resign twelve days later. Mason remained in Nacogdoches for most of the duration of the Texas Revolution. Mason continued to support the Texas Revolution by paying $1,000 for the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Liberty
Texan schooner Liberty
The Texas schooner Liberty was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy . She served in the Texas Navy for only about 6 months, capturing the Mexican brig Pelicano loaded with weapons for their army in Texas. Later that year, she sailed to New Orleans accompanying the wounded Sam Houston,...
for the Texas Navy
Texas Navy
The Texas Navy was the official navy of the Republic of Texas. Two Texas Navies were naval fighting forces. There is a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy, in which officers are commissioned by the Governor of Texas as Admirals, Commanders and Lieutenants....
and advancing $500 for the expenses of the schooner Brutus
Texan schooner Brutus
The Texan schooner Brutus was one of the four ships of the First Texas Navy that wreaked havoc on towns along the coast of Mexico, blockaded Mexican ports, and captured ships bound for Mexico with goods and munitions of war during the Texas Revolution.Her final, and most controversial, voyage was...
. On 2 March 1836, the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
declared its independence and organized a government. The following year, Mason attended a session of Congress of the Republic of Texas
Congress of the Republic of Texas
The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral legislature based on the model of the United States Congress...
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, the capital of Texas.
Later life
After the Texas Revolution, Mason moved to New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, but returned to Texas multiple times during the 1840s. He traveled to Texas for the last time in 1849. Mason died of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
on 3 May 1850 at Tremont House in Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
.
Marriages and children
Mason married Elizabeth Baker Moir in WilliamsburgWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
on 9 February 1809. The couple had at least eleven children:
- Mary Elizabeth Mason (18 December 1809–1822)
- Stevens Thomson MasonStevens T. MasonStevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
(27 October 1811–5 January 1843) - Armistead Thomson Mason (13 June 1813–2 July 1813)
- Armistead Thomson Mason (13 August 1814–13 November 1814)
- Emily Virginia Mason (15 October 1815–16 February 1909)
- Catherine Armistead Mason Rowland (23 February 1818–1884)
- Laura Ann Thomson Mason Chilton (5 October 1821–2 March 1911)
- Theodoshia Howard Mason (9 December 1822–17 January 1834)
- Cornelia Madison Mason (25 January 1825–2 August 1831)
- Mary Elizabeth Mason (18 January 1828–29 October 1833)
- Louisa Westwood Mason (24 September 1829–11 October 1829)
Mason married for a second time to Frances Magruder in Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on 29 June 1845.
Relations
John Thomson Mason was the grandnephew of George MasonGeorge Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
(1725–1792); grandson of Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia lawyer, jurist, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Mason was a younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(1733–1785); son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Armistead Mason (1760–1825) and Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)
Stevens Thomson Mason was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a member of the Virginia state legislature and a Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia .-Early life and military career:...
(1760–1803); nephew of John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason, Jr. was a U.S. Congressman from Maryland, representing the sixth district from 1841 to 1843.-Early life and education:...
(1765–1824); second cousin of Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason was a prominent jurist, lawyer, councilman, judge, and the mayor of Alexandria, District of Columbia between 1827 and 1830.-Early life and education:...
(1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); brother-in-law of William Taylor Barry
William T. Barry
William Taylor Barry was an American statesman and jurist.-History:Born near Lunenburg, Virginia, he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1796 with his parents John Barry, an American Revolutionary War veteran, and Susannah Barry...
(1784–1835); brother of Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason , the son of Stevens Thomson Mason, was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817.-Early life and education:...
(1787–1819); uncle of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
(1811–1843); and first cousin of John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873).