Thomas Mason was an early American businessman, planter, and politician. As a son of George Mason

George Mason

George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...

, a Founding Father of the United States

Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...

, Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family

Mason family

The Mason family of Virginia is a historically significant American political family whose prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics, business, and the military. The progenitor of the Mason family, George Mason I , arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on the ship Assurance in 1652...

.

Early life and education

Mason was born in Fairfax County

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...

, Virginia on May 1, 1770. He was the youngest child and son of George Mason IV

George Mason

George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...

 and his first wife Ann Eilbeck.

Mason was tutored by Reverend Buchanan at his father’s Gunston Hall

Gunston Hall

Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5500 acre plantation...

 plantation. He remained a pupil of Reverend Buchanan’s until he was sent to study at Fredericksburg Academy

Fredericksburg Academy

Fredericksburg Academy, or FA, is a co-educational independent school in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Created in 1992, FA enrolls 550 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.-Curriculum:Fredericksburg Academy is divided into three divisions:...

 in Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...

, Virginia in 1788. After completing his education at Fredericksburg Academy, Mason trained to be a merchant under an apprenticeship with William Hodgson in Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

. Following his apprenticeship in Alexandria, Mason’s father set him up with a business in Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

Marriage and children

Mason married Sarah Barnes Hooe, daughter of Gerard Hooe and Sarah Barnes, at Lexington plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia on April 22, 1793. Sarah was a sister of his elder brother George Mason V

George Mason V

George Mason V of Lexington was a planter, businessman, and militia leader. Mason was the eldest son of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, George Mason IV....

’s wife, Elizabeth "Betsey" Mary Ann Barnes Hooe. The couple had four children:

• Elizabeth Mason
• Gerard Alexander Mason (December 1793–December 18, 1849)
• Leannah Mason Barron (1798–1824)
• Thomas Mason (1800–1828)

Later life

In 1792, Mason inherited his father’s properties on the southern side of the Occoquan River

Occoquan River

The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The river is long, and its watershed covers about . It is formed by the confluence of Broad Run and Cedar Run in Prince William County; Bull Run enters it east-southeast of...

 across from Colchester

Colchester, Virginia

Colchester is an unincorporated town on the Occoquan River in Fairfax County, Virginia. Colchester is a former tobacco port established in 1753. The port town was located on the old post road and Thomas Mason operated a ferry across the Occoquan River here. In 1798, Mason built a bridge across the...

 along with the rights to the Occoquan ferry. Mason named his plantation Woodbridge after the wooden toll bridge he built in 1795 to replace the ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

. Mason had hired renowned inventor and engineer Theodore Burr

Theodore Burr

Theodore Burr was an inventor from Torringford, Connecticut, who was credited with the Burr Arch Truss bridge design and was cousin of vice president Aaron Burr. Theodore Burr came to Oxford, New York in 1792. By 1794, he had built a grist mill , and a dam to power the mill...

 to design the toll bridge. The toll bridge carried King's Highway

King's Highway (Charleston to Boston)

The King's Highway is a route over in length in the eastern United States. It joins Charleston, South Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Charles II of England, who in 1650 directed his colonial governors to build it. It did not become a continuous wagon road until 1735...

 (present-day U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...

) across the Occoquan River. Woodbridge remained under the ownership of the Mason family until 1851 after the death of Mason's eldest son, Gerard Alexander Mason.

Mason died on September 18, 1800 at his residence at age 30. At the time of his death in 1800, Mason was serving his second term as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

representing Prince William County.