Person:George Mason (25)

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George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including substantial portions of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and his Objections to this Constitution of Government (1787) opposing ratification, have exercised a significant influence on American political thought and events. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason principally authored, served as a basis for the United States Bill of Rights, of which he has been deemed a father.

Mason was born in 1725, most likely in what is now Fairfax County, Virginia. His father died when he was young, and his mother managed the family estates until he came of age. He married in 1750, built Gunston Hall and lived the life of a country squire, supervising his lands, family and slaves. He briefly served in the House of Burgesses and involved himself in community affairs, sometimes serving with his neighbor George Washington. As tensions grew between Great Britain and the North American colonies, Mason came to support the colonial side, using his knowledge and experience to help the revolutionary cause, finding ways to work around the Stamp Act of 1765 and serving in the pro-independence Fourth Virginia Convention in 1775 and the Fifth Virginia Convention in 1776.

Mason prepared the first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776, and his words formed much of the text adopted by the final Revolutionary Virginia Convention. He also wrote a constitution for the state; Thomas Jefferson and others sought to have the convention adopt their ideas, but they found that Mason's version could not be stopped. During the American Revolutionary War, Mason was a member of the powerful House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly, but to the irritation of Washington and others, he refused to serve in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, citing health and family commitments.

In 1787, Mason was named one of his state's delegates to the Constitutional Convention and traveled to Philadelphia, his only lengthy trip outside Virginia. Many clauses in the Constitution bear his stamp, as he was active in the convention for months before deciding that he could not sign it. He cited the lack of a bill of rights most prominently in his Objections. He also wanted an immediate end to the slave trade and a supermajority requirement for navigation acts, fearing that restrictions on shipping might harm Virginia. He failed to attain these objectives, and again at the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788, but his prominent fight for a bill of rights led fellow Virginian James Madison to introduce the same during the First Congress in 1789; these amendments were ratified in 1791, a year before Mason died. Obscure after his death, Mason has come to be recognized in the 20th and 21st centuries for his contributions to the early United States and to Virginia.

Acquisition of Land in Fairfax County, VA

Acquisition of Land from Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants 1742-1775, Vol. 2:

• O-87: George Mason of Fairfax County Esq. has 250 acres formerly granted Col. George Mason his father dec'd 20 Jan. 1724. Tract descended to him as son & Heir at Law of said George Mason dec'd. Resurveyed by Mr. John Hough shows only 218 acres in said tract on Little or Lower Falls of Potowmack River adj. Thomas Going Patent now said George Mason, Col. Thomas Lee now Col. Philip Lee. 5 Sept. 1767. [Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Vol. 2, Gray, pg. 192].

• O-88: George Mason of Fairfax County Esq. has 640 acres as son & Heir at Law of Col. George Mason dec'd formerly granted Maj. Thomas Owsley 24 Mar. 1696/7 who sold to Col. George Mason dec'd. Resurveyed by Mr. John Hough shows 65 acres surplus. Grant for 705 acres to George Mason opposite George Town on Potowmack River in said County. Annacostin/alias/my Lords Island now called Barbados. 7 Sept. 1767. [Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Vol. 2, Gray, pg. 192-193].

• O-89: George Mason of Fairfax County Esq. has 653 acres as son & Heir at Law of Col. George Mason dec'd formerly granted Thomas Going 8 Dec. 1708 who sold to Col. Mason. Resurveyed by Mr. John Hough shows 19 acres surplus. Granted to said George Mason 672 acres on Potomack River below the Falls adj. Thomas Owsley, Daniel Jennings, where River is narrower on teh Maryland shore. 8 Sept. 1767. [Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Vol. 2, Gray, pg. 193].

• O-90: George Mason of Fairfax County Esq., 100½ acres between Thomas Owsley, Thomas Going & William Strutfield on Potowmack River in said County. Surveyed Mr. John Hough. 9 Sept. 1767. [Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Vol. 2, Gray, pg. 193].

1.   MASON, GEORGE SR, in Daughters of the American Revolution. Genealogical Research System.