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 Chopawamsic Island is one of the few islands in the Potomac River within the territorial boundaries of the Commonwealth of Virginia. History Once known as Scott's Island, little is known about its history prior to the 1900s due to Stafford Cou ...

in Stafford County, Virginia. He was the third child and youngest son of Thomson Mason and his wife Mary King Barnes.

Education

Early career

Mason operated a plantation in what was then Washington County, Maryland near Elizabethtown (now Hagerstown 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 when it was offered by Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Mason ran for one of Maryland's seats in the United States Senate, but lost. He then served as Attorney General of Maryland in 1806. He was also one of six judges appointed to a newly restructured court of appeals by Governor Robert Bowie on January 19, 1806, but declined the appointment. John Thomas Scharf,
Judges of the Court of Appeals
, ''History of Maryland from the Earliest Period to the Present Day'' (1879), p. 773.

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. 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 ...

(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 (1725–1792); son of Thomson Mason (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 ...

(1760–1803); half-brother of

William Temple Thomson Mason William Temple Thomson Mason (July 24, 1782 – 1862) was a prominent 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' ...

(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 Ma ...

(1753–1796); first cousin once removed of Thomson Francis Mason (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 (1797–1850), and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); uncle of Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819) and John Thomson Mason (1787–1850); father of John Thomson Mason Jr. (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 British North American Anglicans Maryland Attorneys General Maryland lawyers Mason family People from Stafford County, Virginia United States Attorneys for the District of Columbia