George Mason I (5 June 1629 – 1686) was the American

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

of the prominent American landholding and political

Mason family 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 ...

. Mason was the great-grandfather of

George Mason IV George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

, a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were t ...

Early life

George Mason was born in

Pershore Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town i ...

, England, on 5 June 1629. He was the third of seven children of

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

farmer Thomas Mason and his wife Ann French. George Mason was christened at

Pershore Abbey Pershore Abbey, at Pershore in Worcestershire, was an Anglo-Saxon abbey and is now an Anglican parish church, the Church of the Holy Cross. History Foundation The foundation of the minster at Pershore is alluded to in a spurious charter of King ...

, Holy Cross Church, Pershore,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, on 10 June 1629.

Political involvement in England

George Mason I was a

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

during the reign of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

, like his father Thomas Mason, who opposed Charles I's execution in 1649. He became a captain, commanding a troop of horse in Charles II's army. After

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

led the parliamentary-funded troops to victory over the Masons and other Royalist forces at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651, George and younger brother William Mason hurriedly left England.

Arrival in Virginia and political and military leadership

The ancestral Masons probably arrived at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

on the ship ''Assurance'' in 1652. In addition to his younger brother William, he emigrated with cousins and neighbors from England, Thomas and Gerard Fowke of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. Mason settled in then-vast Westmoreland County in the early 1650s. In 1664 he helped to name Stafford County when increasing population in the area led the Virginia General Assembly and royal governor to form it from Westmoreland County. This first George Mason eventually settled permanently near an Indian village along

Accokeek Creek Accokeek Creek is a tidal tributary of Potomac Creek, itself a tributary of the Potomac River, in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. From it headwaters to its mouth, Accokeek Creek is in total length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hyd ...

on a hill between present-day State Routes 608 (Brooke Road) and 621 (Marlborough Point Road) in Stafford County. Mason named his residence Accokeek, but after the tribe disappeared from the area, the Mason family rechristened it "Rose Hill". The property was named for the Accokeek tribe which inhabited both sides of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

(and despite later wars and disease some individuals remained in present-day

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

through the Revolutionary War area). Accokeek

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

began as and gradually increased to in size. In 1670, Mason won election as Stafford county's (second)

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and five years later won election to the important military position as county lieutenant. Mason continued to lead the local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

as an officer, earning the honorific

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. In 1676, after their former delegate Henry Meese (1665-1669) returned to England, fellow settlers elected Mason and Thomas Matthew to represent Stafford county (part time) in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

(which at first consisted only of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

). However, the following year, neither won re-election, and Stafford county was represented by only William Fitzhugh for several years. In 1680, the House of Burgesses was expanded, and voters elected Mason to serve alongside Fitzhugh, though he would die in 1686 and his son would win election and re-election many times (including alongside Fitzhurh and his son). The first George Mason in Virginia thus began traditions of land ownership (including of indentured servants and later enslaved people) and of political leadership. Mason also served as Stafford County's as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of Wa ...

of the local parish of the Church of England. The Acts of the Assembly for 1675, 1679, and 1684, mention Colonel Mason as actively engaged in defending his frontier county against the Indians.

Marriage and children

Mason married Mary French in 1658. He and Mary had one son: *

George Mason II George Mason II (1660–1716) was an early American planter and officeholder who, although his father's only child, had many children and thus can be said to have established the Mason family as one of the First Families of Virginia. His grandson ...

(1660–1716) Mason married secondly to Margaret Allerton in

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

in 1661. They had 3 sons: * Isaac Mason (1661-1689) * Richard Mason (1662-1693) * William Mason (1663-1686) Mason married thirdly to Frances Norgrave in 1669 in Stafford County, Virginia. They had one daughter, Sarah E. Mason, born in 1672.

Later life

Mason died in 1686. His body was interred in 1686 on a hillside at Accokeek in Stafford County, Virginia. His gravesite is currently unmarked.

Masonvale

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

, named in honor of Mason's great-grandson, re-established its Naming Committee to research and select names for its campus facilities and infrastructure. The committee agreed upon the name "Masonvale" for its faculty and staff housing community in the northeast section of George Mason University's Fairfax Campus. The appendage of "vale" was derived from George Mason I's birthplace, Pershore, which lies in an agricultural region known as the

Vale of Evesham A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

in Worcestershire, England. To unify the naming theme within Masonvale, the names "Pershore" and "Evesham" were then used as street names for the community. Other street names used are "Bredon Hill," "Cotswolds Hill," and "Staffordshire." All are regions of Old Worcestershire where many of Mason's ancestors once resided.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, George 01 1629 births 1686 deaths American planters American slave owners British North American Anglicans Cavaliers House of Burgesses members Mason family People from Pershore People from Stafford County, Virginia Virginia sheriffs English emigrants