John Thomson Mason

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For other people called John Thomson Mason, see John Thomson Mason (disambiguation).

John Thomson Mason
Attorney General of Maryland
In office
1806–1806
GovernorRobert Bowie
Preceded byWilliam Pinkney
Succeeded byJohn Johnson Sr.
Personal details
Born(1765-03-15)15 March 1765
Chopawamsic, Stafford County, Colony of Virginia
Died10 December 1824(1824-12-10) (aged 59)
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Beltzhoover
Children7, including John Thomson Mason Jr.
ResidenceMontpelier, Clear Spring, Maryland
ProfessionAttorney

John Thomson Mason (15 March 1765 – 10 December 1824)[1][2] was an American lawyer and Attorney General of Maryland in 1806.[2]

Early life[]

Mason was born on 15 March 1765 at Chopawamsic in Stafford County, Virginia.[1][2] He was the third child and youngest son of Thomson Mason and his wife Mary King Barnes.[1]

Education[]

Early career[]

Mason operated a plantation in what was then Washington County, Maryland near Elizabethtown (now Hagerstown using enslaved labor.[3]

Admitted to the Maryland bar, he attained high rank,[4] but twice declined the office of United States Attorney General when it was offered by Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.[4] Mason ran for one of Maryland's seats in the United States Senate, but lost.[4] He then served as Attorney General of Maryland in 1806.[2]

Marriages and children[]

Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason, painted by Gilbert Stuart

Mason married Elizabeth Beltzhoover in 1797.[1][2] He and Elizabeth had seven children:[1][2]

  • Mary Barnes Mason Winter (c. 1800–11 May 1844)[1]
  • Elizabeth Ann Armistead Thomson Mason Wharton (4 April 1803–20 January 1857)[1]
  • Abram Barnes Mason Barnes (21 October 1807–10 April 1863)[1]
  • Melchior Beltzhoover Mason (born 3 October 1812)[1]
  • John Thomson Mason, Jr. (9 May 1815–28 March 1873)[1]
  • Thomson Mason (15 July 1818–1848)[1]
  • Virginia Wallace Mason (16 April 1820–6 October 1858)[1]

Later life[]

Mason died on 10 December 1824 at the age of 59.[1] Mason was interred at his Montpelier estate in Clear Spring, Maryland.[5]

Relations[]

John Thomson Mason was a nephew of George Mason (1725–1792);[1] son of Thomson Mason (1733–1785);[1] brother of Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803);[1] half-brother of William Temple Thomson Mason (1782–1862);[1] first cousin of George Mason V (1753–1796);[1] first cousin once removed of Thomson Francis Mason (1785–1838), George Mason VI (1786–1834), Richard Barnes Mason (1797–1850), and James Murray Mason (1798–1871);[1] uncle of Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819) and John Thomson Mason (1787–1850);[1] father of John Thomson Mason Jr. (1815–1873);[1] and great uncle of Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843).[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Gunston Hall. "John Thomson Mason". Gunston Hall. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f The Political Graveyard (16 June 2008). "Mason family of Virginia". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  3. ^ The Library of Virginia has a slave importation certificate recorded in Frederick County, Maryland on March 3, 1794 https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990005037370205756&context=L&vid=01LVA_INST:01LVA&lang=en&search_scope=MyInstitution_noAER&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=any,contains,mason,%20thomson&offset=0
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Colonial Dames of America (1910). Ancestral Records and Portraits: A Compilation from the Archives of Chapter I, the Colonial Dames of America. Boston, Massachusetts: Grafton Press. p. 808.
  5. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1976). Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State. US History Publishers. ISBN 1-60354-019-9.
Legal offices
Preceded by
William Pinkney 		Attorney General of Maryland
1806 		Succeeded by
John Johnson Sr.
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