William Mason (22 October 1757 – 7 February 1818) was an American planter and soldier. He was a

militiaman 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 ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and a prominent

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

planter. Mason was the third son of

George Mason 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 ...

, an American patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention.

Early life and education

Mason was born on 22 October 1757. He was the fourth child and third eldest son of

and his wife Ann Eilbeck. Like his brothers, Mason was educated by tutors at

Gunston Hall Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States. Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a plantation, the house was the home of the United State ...

American Revolutionary War

During the

, Mason accepted a captain's commission and served in the Fairfax Militia fighting under

Henry Lee III Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the Amer ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. In 1780, Mason's father declined an offer by Lee to continue his military service because his father felt Mason's "lot must be that of a farmer and gentleman." Mason was presented with a sword by General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, which was said to have been given to him by Charles III of Spain. Mason returned to private life between December 1780 and June 1781.

Properties

In 1780, Mason inherited the Eilbeck family estates, Araby and Mattawoman, in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Was ...

, from his maternal grandfather upon the death of his widow (Mason's grandmother), Sarah Eilbeck. Mason also received all his father's properties in Charles County. These properties were located along Chicamuxen and Mattawoman Creeks, adjacent to the Eilback lands. p. 242

Marriage and children

Unlike his eldest two brothers (but like his two younger brothers), Mason did not marry during his father's lifetime, but rather within a year after his death. On July 11, 1793 William Mason married Ann Stuart, daughter of Rev. William and Sarah Stuart, on 11 July 1793 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in King George, Virginia. The bride's grandfather as well as her father served as rector of St. Paul's parish in King George County, and Sarah became the heiress of her maternal grandfather, Richard Foote of Cedar Grove plantation in King George County. The couple had five children, of whom four married. Their second son, another George Mason, would purchase Lexington from his uncle's estate and in turn left it to his son George Mason of Springbank, who died of typhoid fever and without children in Portland, Oregon on April 19, 1888.Copeland p. 243 *William Stuart Mason (1795–7 March 1857) *George Mason of Hollin Hall (11 November 1797–25 March 1870) *Ann Sarah Stuart Mason Heileman (1803–9 November 1852) *Edgar Eilbeck Mason (1807–8 January 1835) *Mary Elizabeth Mason (1810–2 February 1885)

Death and legacy

Mason died on 7 February 1818 at Mattawoman in

at age 60. Although that plantation house no longer exists, Araby does. His descendants occupied Araby until 1849. Mason's daughter Mary Elizabeth Mason sold the including the mansion to William Thompson in that year.

Relations

William Mason (1757–1814) was: *a son of George Mason (1725–1792) *nephew of

Thomson Mason Thomson Mason (14 August 173326 February 1785) was an American lawyer, planter and jurist. A younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, Thomson Mason wo ...

(1733–1785) *first cousin 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),

John Thomson Mason 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 in Stafford County, Virginia. He was the third child and you ...

(1765–1824), and William Temple Thomson Mason (1782–1862) *uncle of George Mason VI (1786–1834) and

Richard Barnes Mason Richard Barnes Mason (January 16, 1797July 25, 1850) was an American military officer who was a career officer in the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is on ...

(1797–1850),

Thomson Francis Mason Thomson Francis Mason (1785 – 21 December 1838) was an American lawyer, planter and politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria (then in the District of Columbia, but now Virginia) between 1827 and 1830, and as a justice of the peace for ...

(1785–1838), and

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as senator from Virginia, having previously represented Frederick County, Virginia, in the Virginia House of Delegates. A grandson of George Ma ...

(1798–1871) *first cousin once removed of

Armistead Thomson Mason Armistead Thomson Mason (August 4, 1787February 6, 1819), the son of Stevens Thomson Mason, was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817. Mason was also the second-youngest person to ever serve in the US Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 month ...

(1787–1819),

(1787–1850), and John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873), and *first cousin twice removed of

(1811–1843).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, William 1757 births 1818 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians American people of English descent American planters American slave owners British North American Anglicans Businesspeople from Maryland Businesspeople from Virginia George Mason Mason family People from Charles County, Maryland People from Fairfax County, Virginia Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution