Jonathan Mason (politician)

Jonathan Mason (September 12, 1756 – November 1, 1831) was a Federalist United States Senator and Representative from Massachusetts during the early years of the United States.

Jonathan Mason
Portrait of Mason, c. 1850
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office November 14, 1800 – March 3, 1803
Preceded by	Benjamin Goodhue
Succeeded by	John Quincy Adams
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st district
In office March 4, 1817 – May 15, 1820
Preceded by	Artemas Ward Jr.
Succeeded by	Benjamin Gorham
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1799–1800
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1786–1796
Personal details
Born	(1756-09-12)September 12, 1756 Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	November 1, 1831(1831-11-01) (aged 75) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Federalist
Alma mater	College of New Jersey
Profession	Law
Signature

Early life

 

Portrait of his father, Jonathan Mason, painted by the Senator's son, Jonathan Mason, in 1822, after the original by John Johnston

Mason was born in Boston in the Province of Massachusetts Bay on September 12, 1756. He was a son of Jonathan Mason (1725–1798) and Miriam (née Clarke) Mason (1724–1794).^[1]

He attended Boston Latin School the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), graduating in 1774. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1779.^[2]

Career

In 1780, Mason delivered the annual address marking the Boston Massacre.^[3]

Starting in 1795, Mason was a partner in the Mount Vernon Proprietors, a developer of real estate in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. Around 1800 he built a mansion for himself on Mt. Vernon Street, in which he lived through the end of his life. Around 1804 he hired architect Charles Bulfinch to design 4 houses, also on Mt. Vernon Street, for each of his daughters; the 4 houses still stand today.^[4]

Mason was also a member of the South Boston Association, which developed real estate in Dorchester.^[5]

Political career

He was a Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1786 to 1796.^[2]

From 1797 to 1798, he served with the Massachusetts Governor's Council and was elected for the following two years, and was in the Massachusetts Senate from 1799 to 1800. Following the resignation of Senator Benjamin Goodhue, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served from November 14, 1800, to March 3, 1803. He then resumed his law practice and served again in the Massachusetts Senate from 1803 to 1804 and the Massachusetts House from 1805 to 1808.^[2]

He served again in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1817, to May 15, 1820, whereupon he resigned to pursue his law practice.^[2]

Personal life

 

Portrait of Mrs. Jonathan Mason by Gilbert Stuart, 1805

 

Portrait of his daughter, Anna, by Gilbert Stuart, 1804

On April 13, 1779, Mason married Susannah Powell (1760–1836). Together, they were the parents of five daughters and two sons:

• Susan Powell Mason (1783–1841), who married Dr. John Collins Warren, son of Dr. John Warren, founder of Harvard Medical School.^[6]
• Elizabeth Mason (1784–1826), who married attorney Samuel Dunn Parker, son of Samuel Parker, Bishop of Massachusetts.^[7]
• Anna Powell Mason (1789–1861), who married Scottish widower Patrick Grant in 1807.^[8]
• Miriam Clarke Mason (1790–1861), who married businessman David Sears.^[9][10]
• William Powell Mason (1791–1867), who married Hannah Rogers, a descendant of Harvard president John Rogers and of Thomas Dudley, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[11]
• Mary Bromfield Mason (1793–1874), who married Samuel Henry Parkman.^[12]
• Jonathan Mason (1795–1884), who married Isabella Weyman.^[13][14]

Between 1804 and 1805, Gilbert Stuart painted his portrait and that of his wife Susannah and daughter Anna.^[15]

Mason died in Boston, at age 75.^[16] He is interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[17][18]

Descendants

Through his son William he was a grandfather of Elizabeth Rogers Mason Cabot, the wife of Walter Channing Cabot (son of Samuel Cabot Jr.). Elizabeth was involved in running the Home for Aged Colored Women in Boston, as well as the Children's Aid Society and the Woman's Education Association.^[19]

References

1. Department, Boston (Mass ) Registry (1898). Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston. Rockwell and Churchill. p. 254. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
2. "MASON, Jonathan 1756 – 1831". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
3. Loring, James Spear (1853). The Hundred Boston Orators Appointed by the Municipal Authorities and Other Public Bodies, from 1770 to 1852: Comprising Historical Gleanings Illustrating the Principles and Progress of Our Republican Institutions. J. P. Jewett. p. 139. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
4. Dictionary of American biography.
5. Seasholes, Nancy S. (April 13, 2018). Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston. MIT Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-262-53483-3. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
6. Warren, Thomas (1902). A History and Genealogy of the Warren Family in Normandy, Great Britain and Ireland, France, Holland, Tuscany, United States of America, Etc. (A.D. 912-1902): With Numerous Pedigrees. Richard Clay & Sons. p. 366. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
7. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1898). Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 265. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
8. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic Genealogical Society. 1874. p. 53. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
9. Wexler, Dorothy B. (March 5, 2014). Reared in a Greenhouse: The Stories and Story of Dorothy Winthrop Bradford. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-135-67865-4. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
10. Freeman, Frederick (1862). The Annals of the thirteen towns of Barnstable County. Freeman. p. 602. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
11. "Collection: Diaries of Elizabeth Rogers Mason Cabot, 1859-1906 | HOLLIS for". hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
12. Dwight, Benjamin (August 15, 2023). The History of the Descendants of John Dwight: Vol. II. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 899. ISBN 978-3-368-83363-3. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
13. Court of Appeals: On Appeal from the Genera Term of the Supreme Court for the first department. p. 68. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
14. Roberts, Cokie (September 19, 2011). First of Hearts: Selected Letters of Mrs. Henry Adams. AuthorHouse. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4634-2453-4. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
15. George Mason. Life and works of Gilbert Stuart.
16. Biographical dictionary of America.
17. Political Graveyard.
18. United States Congress. "Jonathan Mason (id: M000221)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
19. "Rogers-Mason-Cabot Family Papers". Massachusetts Historical Society. 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2022.

Further reading

• Obituary. Columbian Centinel, November 6, 1831.
• Mary Caroline Crawford. Famous families of Massachusetts. 1930.

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Benjamin Goodhue	U.S. senator (Class 1) from Massachusetts 1800 – 1803 Served alongside: Dwight Foster	Succeeded by John Quincy Adams
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Artemas Ward, Jr.	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st congressional district March 4, 1817 – May 15, 1820	Succeeded by Benjamin Gorham