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 First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...

. His grandson

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 ...

became the most distinguished member of the family, 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

Mason was born in 1660 at his father's 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 ...

in Stafford County, Virginia. He was the only son of

George Mason I George Mason I (5 June 1629 – 1686) was the American progenitor of the prominent American landholding and political Mason family. Mason was the great-grandfather of George Mason, George Mason IV, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Found ...

and his first wife Mary French. He was the first of Virginia's

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 ...

to be born in

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

Political career

Like his father, Mason led the Stafford County militia, with the rank of colonel. After his father's death, he won election many times as one of Stafford County's two part-time delegates in 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 ...

(then the only house of 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 ...

).Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 73 This George Mason also served as the county's

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

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 ...

between 1699 and 1700. During this tenure Mason secured funds from the county to build what was probably Stafford's first jail in 1690. Also between 1699 and 1700, Mason was county lieutenant of Stafford County, under General Nicholson, and defended white settlers of the Potomac region against Native Americans.

Business ventures

In 1691, the town of

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

was laid out on the same neck of land in 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 ...

that included Accokeek plantation. Mason received multiple lots in Marlborough and may have built a tavern there. Mason sold Accokeek after his father's death and relocated to a plantation on

Chopawamsic Creek Chopawamsic Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Potomac River in Prince William and Stafford counties, Virginia. Chopawamsic Cree ...

which he named

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 ...

. At Chopawamsic, Mason planted an orchard, grew tobacco, and raised sheep and cattle.

Marriage and children

Mason married his cousin Mary Fowke, daughter of Gerard Fowke and Ann Thorogood, in 1688. The couple had the following children: *Ann Fowke Mason Fitzhugh Darrell Smith *Elizabeth Mason Roy *

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–March 5, 1735) *Nicholson Mason (1694–1715 or 1716) *French Mason (1695–1748) *Mary Mason Fitzhugh Strother (born circa 1700) *Simpha Rosa Ann Field Mason Dinwiddie Bronaugh (1703–November 22, 1761) Mason married secondly to Elizabeth Waugh in Stafford County, Virginia in 1706. George and Elizabeth had one daughter: *Catherine Mason (June 21, 1707–June 15, 1750) Mason married for a third time to Sarah Taliaferro, daughter of Francis Taliaferro and Elizabeth Catlett, in 1710. George and Sarah had four children: *Gerard Mason *Thomas Mason *Francis Mason (born 1711) *Sarah Mason (born 1715)

Later life

Mason died in 1716 in

Port Tobacco Port Tobacco, officially Port Tobacco Village, is a town in Charles County, in southern Maryland, United States. The population was 13 at the 2010 census, making Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland. Overview This was historical ...

Charles County Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata, Maryland, La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Charle ...

, Maryland. He was interred on a hillside with his father near the site of the old Accokeek estate near

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 ...

in Stafford County, Virginia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, George 02 1660 births 1716 deaths American people of English descent American planters American slave owners British North American Anglicans House of Burgesses members Mason family People from Stafford County, Virginia Virginia sheriffs Taliaferro family of Virginia