Genealogy and History THE FAMILY OF HUGH lv1ASON WILLIAM MASON and Allied Families BY MARY ELIZA MASON "That Alone Lives Which We Make Live Bg Rememberin~. Ana That Onlg Ia Deaa Which Has Been For~otten" MARY ELIZA MASON AN EXPLANATION The committee on Publication presents this volume, com­ plying as near as possible to the wish of the author. In some cases the manuscript was not quite clear, but copy has been followed since no one knew the history of the Mason family as Miss M'ary E. Mason did. In some instances it seems to be somewhat incomplete, but no member of the committee was able to make proper corrections. We are presenting the printed book in exact reproduction of the original copy. MISS ADDIE C. IRISH, MISS BERTHA E. WHITE, MR. HARLEY FRYE, MRS. ADA NAU. ID)JF;]D)IlC.A\ irll(Q)M To the memory of MY FATHER This book is affectionately inscribed by one who, through all her work, could but think how pleased he would be could he note the progress of that work, and whose silent approbation was her most constant incentive to work. Thinking about this it seemed that some design symbolic of the ever branching family would be appropriate for a genealogi­ cal register. The banyan tree was considered, but upon remem­ bering the beautiful walking fern, the tree was abandoned and the fern selected. Tlle fern's method of growth symbolizing the growth, dissem­ ination, and onward tread of the family. I ask from the artist leniency in criticism of the design, as it was my first attempt to design. Its main feature being orig- inality, rather than artistic merit. M. E. M. JPJR{EJPACE It was my intention in the beginning to simply trace the an­ cestry of my father and mother back !ar enough to see i! they were two separate families, or only two branches of the same family. Then as it was the end of the first century since my great grandfather landed at Marietta, he being the first Ma.son in the "Northwest TeI'!'itory," and as his descendants are settled in many states of the West, I purposed to find the number of descendants, and how the family had grown in the last one hun­ dred years. Having become interested in the investigations, my desire to collect a complete family record increased. This led to my seeking every available source of information, which required correspondence with a large number of persons, covering a period o! 30 years and incurring of no little expense. Accuracy in everything, and that has been striven for. Having finally col­ lected a complete genealogy o! many o! the family as far back as Hugh Mason, I have been asked, and thought best, to have the genealogy, together with some other facts, put in more enduring !orm. I! the facts collected are of value or interest to any now liv­ ing or shall be prized by future generations, I shall be highly gratified. CONTENTS AND INDEX Dedication . • . • . • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . • . • . 5 Preface . .. .. ... .... •. .. ..••.. .. ... ... .•... .. ... 9 Book Cover . • . • . • . • . • • . 7 Explanations and Notes . • . • . • . • • • . • . • . 13 Epitaphs . ......•......•...•.....•.....•...•.........•. 330 Old Wills . • . • . • . • . • . 21 Official and War Records ..................•.•.............205 Old Commissions .........................•••.•........ 208 Notes from Watertown, Mass .• Records ..•..•••...•...... 207 Land Grants and Possessions ....••....•.•.•............. 252 Churches and Church Members ......•...•...•............. 321 William Blon Mason-Life of .........•.........•.......•... 224 William Blon Mason-Family ..................•.......••..• 224 Willian Bion Mason-;r.....................•....•.......... 226 Secret Societies ..•...........................•......... 228 War Records .. ·.................•........•............. 228 M:ip of Battle of Shiloh ..........•.........•............ 236 Resolutions on his death ........••..............•....••• 240 William Mason Freemason (1791) ...•............•......•....•........ 240 Pioneer Life ...•..................•.....•...•.•....•.•. 243 Ohio Company ..•..............•.......•......•......• 245 Settlement at Marietta, Ohio .........•.....••..•••.•.• 243 Campus Martius ...................•...•..••..•.......•. 247 T".ae Point •..•..........................•..•.•...•.•... 247 List of Physicians . ...............••......•.•.••...•..... 337 List of Ministers . ....................•••••••.•...•..... 337 Lis& o; Deacons ...•...........•......•....•.•••.•.•..•.•.. 337 List of Lawyers .....................••...••.••.••..•...••.. 338 List of Army Officers whom. Masons ...•...•••••••.•...•...•. 338 List of Colleges and Schools .........•....•••.••.•.••....... 338 List of College Graduates ........•••••..•.••••••••..•..•... 338 List of M. E. Mason's Ancestors .......•...••••.••••.•...•... 334 List of M. E. Mason's Ancestors with b. and d ..•..••..•...••. 339 Ex,Jlanations The plan adopted by the New England Historic Genealogical Society Is the one followed in this work. The heads of families are numbered in Arabic numbers in large type. Following the sketch o! the head of a family will be found the name of the children, in the order of their birth, as tar as ascertained, numbered by Roman numerals. The consecutive Arabic numerals in small type, preceding the name o! individuals, indicate that their record ls continued on a subsequent page under the same number in large type. The ancestry of the head o! each family Is given enclosed in parentheses; the generations of the same being Indicated by exponent figures. Frequent repetitions of common words, such as bom, mar­ ried, died, baptized, daughter and removed, have led to the use o! ordinary abbreviations. The interrogation is used to express doubt or uncertainty. G before the name denotes that the record was obtained from "Sterling History,'' by Isaac Goodwin. S from Dictionary of Savage. H from Harris Manuscript History IN. E. H. G. Society). B from "Bonds Watertown." N from New England Historic Genealogical Reg. D from Dublin History. A from Dedham History. C from History of Spencer. L from Lexington History. For blank from members of the family. Note-The compiler will be pleased to have her attention called to any errors or omlssions in this volume, and to receive additional information concerning any of the families mentioned. In the New England Gen. Register I find the following: Gleanings among the English Archives: Admon~f Hugh Mason, commissioned 16 May, 1702, to Ben­ jamin FranklL'l, attorney for John and Joseph Mason. sons of Hugh Mason I:i.te of Watertown in New England, deceased, to ad­ minister during absence and for use of said sons.-P. C. C. Acts Book. Admo.i-or Hugh Mason, commission issued 16 r.tay, 1702, to Benjamin Franklin, attorney !or John and Joseph Mason, sons of Hester Mason, widow of Hugh Ma.son, late of Watertown in New England, deceased; to admlnlster during absence and for use of said sons.-P. c. c. Acts Book. Note says-These administrations taken out in England ten years after the decease of the longest lived probably show the recovery of some pro;.:>crty left by relatives there. ''Larondouette. 5-11-11. "Miss Mason: "I send herewith ::t short sketch of what has been done in our search for Captain Hugh Mason. "The search among the English records for Captain Bugh Mason begun in 1896 and given at intervals into the hands of several experts. The first step was to examine the records at Somerset House-the repository of English wills-and subse­ quently those published and found upon the shelves of the Brit­ ish Museum. Later some two hundred Parish Registers were searched and though the name of Hugh Mason continually oc­ curs, yet none of them have afforded a clue. At one time a sub­ scription was started by Charles F. Mason. Esq., of Cambridge, Mass~ and the sum was expended in searching as far as possible the Parish and Town Records. The frequency of the name in Yorkshire led to a special hunt in that county and some sixty wills were examined, but to no purpose. It is, however, almost certain that Captain Hugh is of the Yorkshire family, known to­ day as the 'Hull' Masons. Various traditions still held in the American branch of the family associate with the coat of arms and crest of this Yorkshire family, the head of which was Sir John. who was Privy Councellor to King HE:nry VIII. King Edward VI, Queen Mary and Elizabeth and was also Chancellor of OXford. A conspicuous man in his time. The probable reason of our non­ success in finding a clue to Captain Hugh lies in the fact that he was a Puritan, a sect so scorned by loyalists of his day that few records were kept of them. It would seem as if this would be the only explanation of the difficulty experienced in tracing our common ancestor. In the documents, and they are many, col­ lected in the search. lies the history of mz.ny an American fam­ ily, though that of Captain Hugh is still unknown to us. One of the discouraging things that is met in genealogical research in England during the time of the Stuarts. is the wholesale de­ s~ruction of Parish Registers. So many have been burned and are missing. In many cases whole pages have been tom out to use in wrapping up parcels. Vicars, curates and other officials who have been asked for information have replied in a most kindly way and many precious documents have been instantly placed before the writer of this sketch. Many of them are in a hand-writing very unlike that of our day and a certain knowl­ edge of block letters is essential. Surely some day with patience we shall find the link we are all so anxious to discover. "BURDETT MASON." THE MASON HISTORY 1. B F.-Hugh Mason, b. in England in 1606. d. in Watertown, Mass., Oct. 10, 1678. M. Hester Wells, who d. May 21, 1692. aged 82. Hugh Mason, tanner or currier, aged 28, with his wife, Hes­ ter, aged 22, came to New England 10th of April, 1634, in the ship Francis from Ipswich, Suffolk Co., England. Ship COIIllI''3.nd­ ed by John Cutting. They settled in Watertown, Mass. He was made freeman Mar. 4, 1634-5. He was one of the most notable men who came from England at that early time. Many positions of honor and trust were given to him while he was but a young man and continued to him until his death.