John Thomson Mason (January 8, 1787 – April 17, 1850) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

United States marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

, Secretary of

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

Early life and education

Mason was born on January 8, 1787, at Raspberry Plain near Leesburg in

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He was eldest child and eldest son of Stevens Thomson Mason, Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia, and his wife Mary Elizabeth Armistead. Mason was educated at Charlotte Hall Military Academy in Charlotte Hall, St. Mary's County, Maryland, and at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Political appointee

In 1812, Mason left his family stronghold of

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

to attempt making his own fortunes in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. In 1817, President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

appointed Mason

. Mason was appointed Secretary of

and superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. He held those appointments until 1831, when President Jackson sent Mason on a mission to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. To fill his post as Secretary of Michigan Territory, President Jackson appointed Mason's son Stevens. Stevens later became the first

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

on October 6, 1835.

Land agent and revolutionary

Afterwards, Mason resided principally in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 1830, Mason became a scripholder for the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in New York. The land company's purpose was to assume the land holdings of Texas empresarios

Lorenzo de Zavala Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Sánchez (October 3, 1788 – November 15, 1836), known simply as Lorenzo de Zavala, was a Mexican and later Tejano physician, politician, diplomat and author. Born in Yucatán (state), Yucatán under Vicero ...

, David G. Burnet, and Joseph Vehlein which comprised approximately . Mason became a confidential land agent for the land company in 1831. While in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on the land company's behalf, Mason discovered that the Law of April 6, 1830, prevented the transfer of Mexican land to foreign companies. On a subsequent trip to Mexico City in 1833, Mason was able to secure a repeal of the law's stipulation that forbade colonization in Mexico from the United States. Once he accomplished this, Mason resigned from the land company to promote his personal Texas landholdings. Mason continued to expand his landholdings by purchasing 300 leagues from the Mexican government and 100 leagues from individual landholders. To manage his land holdings, Mason employed John Charles Leplicher in

as his land office clerk and Archibald Hotchkiss as his attorney. Mason's prosperous land business was soon compromised when his large land grants were cancelled by the Provisional government of Texas. The revolutionary government repudiated the sales of land made in 1834 by the Mexican state of

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...

, going so far as to name Mason's contract as annulled by them in the First Texan Constitution. His attorney Leplicher then filed suit against Mason in Nacogdoches on February 16, 1835, for alleged unpaid salary. Mason was made commandant of the Nacogdoches District by the Committee of Vigilance and Safety on April 11, 1836, only to resign twelve days later. Mason remained in Nacogdoches for most of the duration of the Texas Revolution. Mason continued to support the Texas Revolution by paying $1,000 for the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

'' for the Texas Navy and advancing $500 for the expenses of the schooner ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

''. On March 2, 1836, the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

declared its independence and organized a government. The following year, Mason attended a session of Congress of the Republic of Texas in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, the capital of Texas.

Later life

After the Texas Revolution, Mason moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, but returned to Texas multiple times during the 1840s. He traveled to Texas for the last time in 1849. Mason died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

on May 3, 1850, at Tremont House in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

Marriages and children

Mason married Elizabeth Baker Moir in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, on February 9, 1809. The couple had at least eleven children: *Mary Elizabeth Mason (December 18, 1809 – 1822) * Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 5, 1843) *Armistead Thomson Mason (June 13, 1813 – July 2, 1813) *Armistead Thomson Mason (August 13, 1814 – November 13, 1814) *Emily Virginia Mason (October 15, 1815 – February 16, 1909) *Catherine Armistead Mason Rowland (February 23, 1818 – 1884) *Laura Ann Thomson Mason Chilton (October 5, 1821 – March 2, 1911) *Theodoshia Howard Mason (December 9, 1822 – January 17, 1834) *Cornelia Madison Mason (January 25, 1825 – August 2, 1831) *Mary Elizabeth Mason (January 18, 1828 – October 29, 1833) *Louisa Westwood Mason (September 24, 1829 – October 11, 1829) Mason married for a second time to Frances Magruder in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, on June 29, 1845.

Relations

John Thomson Mason was the 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 (1733–1785); son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Armistead Mason (1760–1825) and Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803); nephew of John Thomson Mason (1765–1824); second cousin of Thomson Francis Mason (1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); brother-in-law of

William Taylor Barry William Taylor Barry (February 5, 1784 – August 30, 1835) was an American statesman, and jurist. He served as Postmaster General for most of the administration of President Andrew Jackson and was the only Cabinet member not to resign in 1831 ...

(1784–1835); brother of Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819); uncle of Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843); and first cousin of John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, John Thomson 1787 births 1850 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians American people of English descent Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni Deaths from cholera in the United States Law enforcement officials from Michigan Mason family Michigan Territory officials New York (state) lawyers People from Leesburg, Virginia People of the Texas Revolution College of William & Mary alumni United States Marshals Virginia lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C.