John Thomson Mason Jr. (May 9, 1815 – March 28, 1873) was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, representing the sixth district from 1841 to 1843.

Early life and education

Born at the Montpelier estate near

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

, Mason was educated by a private tutor and graduated from

Princeton College Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

in 1836. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Hagerstown in 1838.

Political career

Mason later served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

in 1838 and 1839, and was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

Twenty-seventh Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., between March 4, ...

, serving one term from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843. He was a judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland (previously the Maryland Court of Appeals) is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of ...

from 1851 to 1857, and afterwards a collector of customs at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, from 1857 to 1861. He moved to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, and served as

Secretary of State of Maryland The secretary of state of Maryland is charged with the administrative and record-keeping functions of the state government of the U.S. state of Maryland. The secretary of state also holds custody of the Seal of Maryland. Unlike in many states ...

from 1872 until his death in 1873.

Death and interment

Mason died on March 28, 1873, in Elkton, Maryland at age 57. He is interred in

Rose Hill Cemetery (Maryland) Rose Hill Cemetery, located in Hagerstown, Maryland, is the oldest public cemetery in Washington County, Maryland, Washington County Maryland. The cemetery features over 102 acres of burial space and is the final resting place of over 43,000 ind ...

in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Marriage and children

Mason married Margaret Augusta Cowan in Alleghany City, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1842. The couple had four children: *Louise Gilmer Mason Terry (February 12, 1844–September 26, 1921) *William Temple Thomson Mason (December 12, 1845–April 5, 1847) *Elizabeth Mason Porter (born March 28, 1848) *John Thomson Mason (born January 3, 1850)

Relations

John Thomson Mason Jr. was a grandnephew of

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

(1725–1792); grandson 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 w ...

(1733–1785); nephew 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 a ...

(1760–1803); son of

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 (plantation), Chopawamsic in Stafford County, Virginia. He wa ...

(1765–1824) and Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason (1781–1836); second cousin of

Thomson Francis Mason Thomson Francis Mason (1785 – 21 December 1838) was an American lawyer, planter and politician who served as the Mayor of Alexandria, D.C. between 1827 and 1830, and as a justice of the peace for many years and briefly in the months before his ...

(1785–1838); first cousin of

Armistead Thomson Mason Armistead Thomson Mason (August 4, 1787February 6, 1819) 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 months, even though the age requirement f ...

(1787–1819),

(1787–1850), and

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician who became a Confederate diplomat. He served as U.S. Senator from Virginia for fourteen years, having previously represented Virginia's 15th congression ...

(1798–1871); and first cousin once removed of

(1811–1843).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, John Thomson 02 1815 births 1873 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians American people of English descent Burials at Rose Hill Cemetery (Hagerstown, Maryland) Mason family Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland Maryland lawyers Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Hagerstown, Maryland People from Washington County, Maryland Princeton University alumni Secretaries of state of Maryland Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly