George Mason I
George Mason I (5 June 1629 – 1686)[1][2] was the American progenitor of the prominent American landholding and political Mason family. Mason was the great-grandfather of George Mason IV, a Founding Father of the United States.[1]
George Mason I | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing Stafford County | |
| In office 1676–1677 Serving with Thomas Mathew | |
| Preceded by | Henry Meese |
| Succeeded by | William Fitzhugh |
| In office 1680–1682 Serving with William Fitzhugh | |
| Preceded by | n/a |
| Succeeded by | Martin Scarlet |
| In office 1684–1685 Serving with William Fitzhugh | |
| Preceded by | Martin Scarlet |
| Succeeded by | Martin Scarlet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 June 1629 Pershore, England |
| Died | 1686 (aged 56–57) Stafford County, Colony of Virginia |
| Resting place | Accokeek, Stafford County, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Mary French Margaret Allerton Frances Norgrave |
| Relations | great-grandfather of George Mason IV |
| Children | George Mason II |
| Occupation | plantar, soldier, legislator, justice of the peace |
Early life
George Mason was born in Pershore, England, on 5 June 1629.[1][3] He was the third of seven children of yeoman farmer Thomas Mason and his wife Ann French.[1][2] George Mason was christened at Pershore Abbey, Holy Cross Church, Pershore, Worcestershire, on 10 June 1629.[1][2]
Political involvement in England
George Mason I was a Cavalier during the reign of Charles I of England, like his father Thomas Mason, who opposed Charles I's execution in 1649. He became a captain, commanding a troop of horse in Charles II's army. After Oliver Cromwell led the parliamentary-funded troops to victory over the Masons and other Royalist forces at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, George and younger brother William Mason hurriedly left England.
Arrival in Virginia and political and military leadership
The ancestral Masons probably arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on the ship Assurance in 1652.[2][3] In addition to his younger brother William, he emigrated with cousins and neighbors from England, Thomas and Gerard Fowke of Staffordshire.[2][3] Mason settled in then-vast Westmoreland County in the early 1650s. In 1664 he helped to name Stafford County when increasing population in the area led the Virginia General Assembly and royal governor to form it from Westmoreland County.[3]
This first George Mason eventually settled permanently near an Indian village along Accokeek Creek on a hill between present-day State Routes 608 (Brooke Road) and 621 (Marlborough Point Road) in Stafford County.[3] Mason named his residence Accokeek, but after the tribe disappeared from the area, the Mason family rechristened it "Rose Hill".[3] The property was named for the Accokeek tribe which inhabited both sides of the Potomac River (and despite later wars and disease some individuals remained in present-day Prince George's County, Maryland through the Revolutionary War area). Accokeek plantation began as 650 acres (2.6 km2) and gradually increased to 1,150 acres (4.7 km2) in size.[3]
In 1670, Mason won election as Stafford county's (second) sheriff and five years later won election to the important military position as county lieutenant. Mason continued to lead the local militia as an officer, earning the honorific colonel.[3]
In 1676, after their former delegate Henry Meese (1665-1669) returned to England, fellow settlers elected Mason and Thomas Matthew to represent Stafford county (part time) in the Virginia General Assembly (which at first consisted only of the House of Burgesses). However, the following year, neither won re-election, and Stafford county was represented by only William Fitzhugh for several years. In 1680, the House of Burgesses was expanded, and voters elected Mason to serve alongside Fitzhugh, though he would die in 1686 and his son would win election and re-election many times (including alongside Fitzhurh and his son).[5] The first George Mason in Virginia thus began traditions of land ownership (including of indentured servants and later enslaved people) and of political leadership.
Mason also served as Stafford County's as a Justice of the Peace and vestryman of the local parish of the Church of England.[3] The Acts of the Assembly for 1675, 1679, and 1684, mention Colonel Mason as actively engaged in defending his frontier county against the Indians.
Marriage and children
Mason married Mary French in 1658.[1][2] He and Mary had one son:[1]
- George Mason II (1660–1716)[1]
Mason married secondly to Margaret Allerton in Stafford County, Virginia in 1661. They had 3 sons:[6]
- Isaac Mason (1661-1689)
- Richard Mason (1662-1693)
- William Mason (1663-1686)
Mason married thirdly to Frances Norgrave in 1669 in Stafford County, Virginia.[1][2] They had one daughter, Sarah E. Mason, born in 1672.
Later life
Mason died in 1686.[1] His body was interred in 1686 on a hillside at Accokeek in Stafford County, Virginia.[1][3] His gravesite is currently unmarked.[3]
Masonvale
George Mason University, named in honor of Mason's great-grandson, re-established its Naming Committee to research and select names for its campus facilities and infrastructure.[7] The committee agreed upon the name "Masonvale" for its faculty and staff housing community in the northeast section of George Mason University's Fairfax Campus.[7] The appendage of "vale" was derived from George Mason I's birthplace, Pershore, which lies in an agricultural region known as the Vale of Evesham in Worcestershire, England.[7] To unify the naming theme within Masonvale, the names "Pershore" and "Evesham" were then used as street names for the community.[7] Other street names used are "Bredon Hill," "Cotswolds Hill," and "Staffordshire."[7] All are regions of Old Worcestershire where many of Mason's ancestors once resided.[7]
References
- Gunston Hall. "George Mason I". Gunston Hall. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- French Family Association (2008). "Children of Dennis French, A.2". French Family Association. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- Lee Woolf (7 April 2002). "George Mason gets memorial in D.C." The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 41, 46, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 73
- "George Mason b. 5 Jun 1629 Pershore, Worcester, England d. 1686 Accokeek, Stafford County, Virginia: Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties". www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- Dave Andrews (18 December 2008). "History Is a Guide in Selecting Name for Faculty and Staff Housing Community". The Mason Gazette. Retrieved 21 March 2008.