Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Mason (May 1, 1770 – September 18, 1800) was an early American businessman, planter, and politician. As a son of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States, Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family.
Early life and education
Mason was born in Fairfax County, Virginia on May 1, 1770. He was the youngest child and son of George Mason IV and his first wife Ann Eilbeck.
Mason was tutored by Reverend Buchanan at his father's Gunston Hall plantation. He remained a pupil of Reverend Buchanan’s until he was sent to study at Fredericksburg Academy in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1788. After completing his education at Fredericksburg Academy, Mason trained to be a merchant under an apprenticeship with William Hodgson in Alexandria. Following his apprenticeship in Alexandria, Mason’s father set him up with a business in Richmond.
Marriage and children
Mason married Sarah Barnes Hooe, daughter of Gerard Hooe and Sarah Barnes, at Lexington plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia on April 22, 1793. Sarah was a sister of his elder brother George Mason V’s wife, Elizabeth "Betsey" Mary Ann Barnes Hooe. The couple had four children:
- Elizabeth Mason
- Gerard Alexander Mason (December 1793–December 18, 1849)
- Leannah Mason Barron (1798–1824)
- Thomas Mason (1800–1828)
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Later life
In 1792, Mason inherited his father's properties on the southern side of the Occoquan River across from Colchester along with the rights to the Occoquan ferry. Mason named his plantation Woodbridge after the wooden toll bridge he built in 1795 to replace the ferry. Mason had hired renowned inventor and engineer Theodore Burr to design the toll bridge. The toll bridge carried King's Highway (present-day U.S. Route 1) across the Occoquan River. Woodbridge remained under the ownership of the Mason family until 1851 after the death of Mason's eldest son, Gerard Alexander Mason.
Mason died on September 18, 1800, at his residence at age 30. At the time of his death in 1800, Mason was serving his second term as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Prince William County.