Thomson Mason

Thomson Mason (14 August 173326 February 1785) was an American barrister, planter and politician. A younger brother of George Mason IV and delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention, Thomson Mason was the father of Stevens Thomson Mason (who after service in the American Revolutionary War followed his father's career into law and politics and eventually become a U.S. Senator from Virginia), and was the great-grandfather of Stevens T. Mason, first Governor of Michigan.

Early life Mason was born at Doeg's Neck on 14 August 1733.

Career Upon returning to Virginia, Mason was admitted to the Virginia bar and developed a private legal practice. After marrying Mary King Barnes, the daughter of Col. Barnes of Leonardtown, Maryland, across the Potomac River and a major local slave trader, Thomson Mason represented his father-in-law's interests in America during his frequent trips to England. In 1758 he also became Barnes' partner in some of the voyages in which Virginia or Maryland tobacco was shipped to Europe and slaves imported from Africa on the return journey.

Voters in Stafford County elected Mason several times as a burgess in the House of Burgesses. He served alongside Thomas Ludwell Lee in the 1756-1761 session, but neither man won re-election. Stafford County voters then elected (and re-elected) Mason to represent them along with John Alexander from 1766 until 1772, when he was replaced by Yelverton Peyton.

In 1760, Mason had purchased a plantation he would call Raspberry Plain in Loudoun County, Virginia, which he operated (like Chopowamsic) using enslaved labor. Thomson built the mansion at Raspberry Plain in 1771, moved there after his first wife's death, and gained a reputation as a good host. Shortly before his death, Thomson Mason owned 47 slaves in Loudoun County. Upon Thomson's death, his eldest son Stevens Thomson Mason inherited Raspberry Plain.

Thus, during the First Virginia Revolutionary Convention in 1774, Mason represented Loudoun County, together with Francis Peyton and Josias Clapham. However, Thomson Mason became the only delegate to oppose a nonimportation resolution, and decided to retire from public life, citing ill health. Nonetheless, his firstborn son and heir, Stevens Thomson Mason, served with distinction in the Continental Army.

Three years later, Loudoun County voters elected (and re-elected) Mason and Clapham as their (part-time) representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates during the 1777 and 1778 sessions. Then, the widower Mason rekindled a romance with Elizabeth Westwood, whose husband, James Wallace of Elizabeth City County had died. They married in November 1777, but the new bride came to consider Loudoun County nearly backcountry. Perhaps as a result of her influence, Elizabeth City County voters elected Mason as one of their representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates in early 1779. Mason's resignation on June 9 was refused, until the House found him ineligible and forced a new election, in which William Henry was elected to serve alongside John Tabb.

In 1778, fellow legislators elected Mason one of five judges in the General Court (now the Supreme Court of Virginia, alongside Joseph Jones, John Blair, Thomas Ludwell Lee and Paul Carrington. This would have made him ineligible for further legislative service.

Following the American Revolutionary War, and another legislative reorganization of the state judiciary, Stafford County voters again elected the ailing Mason as one of their representatives in the House of Delegates in 1783, and he served a final term alongside veteran legislator Charles Carter. There Mason became chairman of the Committee on Courts of Justice, but did not attempt re-election. He died at Chopawamsic in 1785.

Personal life Mason married Mary King Barnes, the only daughter of Colonel Abraham Barnes and Mary King, in 1758. Mason had four children with Elizabeth: