George Mason V
Encyclopedia
George Mason V of Lexington (30 April 1753 – 5 December 1796) was a planter, businessman, and militia
leader. Mason was the eldest son of United States
patriot
, statesman, and delegate from Virginia
to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, George Mason IV
.
and his wife Ann Eilbeck. George received his early education from private tutors at Gunston Hall
. George was given Lexington plantation on Mason's Neck
by his father in 1774. In 1775, he named his plantation to commemorate the Battle of Lexington
in Massachusetts
.
. He developed a rheumatic disorder
plagued him for the remainder of his life. In 1776, George commanded a militia
company sent to Hampton
, Virginia
to protect the coast from John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
's assaults, but was forced to quit the military on account of his increasingly ill health.
between 1779 and 1783 for business purposes and to improve his ill health. At his father's request, George Washington
wrote George letters of introduction
to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin
in Paris
. While in France, George eventually settled in Nantes
where he became involved in the tobacco
trade and occasionally arranged for shipments of goods to his father in America.
, on 22 April 1784. George and Betsey had six children:
By his will, George divided Mason's Neck into two approximately equal tracts along a north-south axis from Causeway Point to Martin Cockburn’s south boundary line. His eldest son George Mason VI
received the eastern tract with the ownership privilege of either Lexington or Gunston Hall, of which he chose the latter. Another of his sons, William Eilbeck Mason, received the western half of the Neck.
(1725–1792); nephew of Thomson Mason
(1733–1785); first cousin of Stevens Thomson Mason
(1760–1803), John Thomson Mason
(1765–1824), and William Temple Thomson Mason
(1782–1862); father of George Mason VI
(1786–1834) and Richard Barnes Mason
(1797–1850); uncle of Thomson Francis Mason
(1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); first cousin once removed of Armistead Thomson Mason
(1787–1819), John Thomson Mason
(1787–1850), and John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873); and first cousin twice removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
(1811–1843).
Militia (United States)
The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
leader. Mason was the eldest son of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
patriot
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
, statesman, and delegate from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, George Mason IV
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
.
Early life
Born on 30 April 1753, George was the eldest son of George Mason IVGeorge Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
and his wife Ann Eilbeck. George received his early education from private tutors at Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5500 acre plantation...
. George was given Lexington plantation on Mason's Neck
Mason Neck, Virginia
Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River to the south of Washington, DC. It is surrounded also by Belmont Bay to the west, Gunston Cove to the east, and Pohick Bay to the northeast...
by his father in 1774. In 1775, he named his plantation to commemorate the Battle of Lexington
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Military career
George joined the Fairfax County Independent Militia in 1775 and was elected EnsignEnsign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
. He developed a rheumatic disorder
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
plagued him for the remainder of his life. In 1776, George commanded a militia
Militia (United States)
The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
company sent to Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to protect the coast from John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...
's assaults, but was forced to quit the military on account of his increasingly ill health.
Travels
George travelled to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
between 1779 and 1783 for business purposes and to improve his ill health. At his father's request, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
wrote George letters of introduction
Letter of introduction
The letter of introduction, along with the visiting card, was an important part of polite social interaction in the 18th and 19th centuries. It remains important in formal situations, such as an ambassador presenting his credentials, and in certain business circles.In general, a person would not...
to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. While in France, George eventually settled in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
where he became involved in the tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
trade and occasionally arranged for shipments of goods to his father in America.
Marriage and children
George married Elizabeth "Betsey" Mary Ann Barnes Hooe, daughter of Gerard Hooe and his wife Sarah Barnes of Barnesfield, King George CountyKing George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile . There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
, on 22 April 1784. George and Betsey had six children:
- Elizabeth Mary Ann Barnes Mason Hooe (9 March 1785–25 March 1827)
- George Mason VIGeorge Mason VIGeorge Mason VI was a prominent Virginia planter. Mason was the eldest son of planter and businessman George Mason V and grandson of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(11 August 1786–21 August 1834) - William Eilbeck Mason (3 February 1788–22 November 1820)
- Ann Eilbeck Mason Grymes (1 April 1791–5 November 1864)
- Sarah Barnes Hooe Mason Stith (27 May 1794–11 September 1877)
- Richard Barnes MasonRichard Barnes MasonRichard Barnes Mason was a career general officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state.-Early life:...
(16 January 1797–26 July 1850)
Later life
Upon the death of his father George Mason IV, George inherited the entirety of Mason's Neck. George died four years after his father at Lexington on 5 December 1796 after suffering from chronic ill health for his entire adult life. He was interred in the Mason family graveyard at Gunston Hall. In 1803, his widow Betsey married George Graham.By his will, George divided Mason's Neck into two approximately equal tracts along a north-south axis from Causeway Point to Martin Cockburn’s south boundary line. His eldest son George Mason VI
George Mason VI
George Mason VI was a prominent Virginia planter. Mason was the eldest son of planter and businessman George Mason V and grandson of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
received the eastern tract with the ownership privilege of either Lexington or Gunston Hall, of which he chose the latter. Another of his sons, William Eilbeck Mason, received the western half of the Neck.
Relations
George Mason V was a son of George MasonGeorge Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
(1725–1792); nephew of Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia lawyer, jurist, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Mason was a younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(1733–1785); first cousin of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)
Stevens Thomson Mason was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a member of the Virginia state legislature and a Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia .-Early life and military career:...
(1760–1803), John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason, Jr. was a U.S. Congressman from Maryland, representing the sixth district from 1841 to 1843.-Early life and education:...
(1765–1824), and William Temple Thomson Mason
William Temple Thomson Mason
William Temple Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia farmer and businessman.-Early life:William Temple Thomson Mason was born on 24 July 1782 at Raspberry Plain. "Temple", as he was known by his family, was Thomson Mason's third child and youngest son with his second wife Elizabeth Westwood Wallace...
(1782–1862); father of George Mason VI
George Mason VI
George Mason VI was a prominent Virginia planter. Mason was the eldest son of planter and businessman George Mason V and grandson of United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
(1786–1834) and Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason was a career general officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state.-Early life:...
(1797–1850); uncle of Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason was a prominent jurist, lawyer, councilman, judge, and the mayor of Alexandria, District of Columbia between 1827 and 1830.-Early life and education:...
(1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871); first cousin once removed of Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason
Armistead Thomson Mason , the son of Stevens Thomson Mason, was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817.-Early life and education:...
(1787–1819), John Thomson Mason
John Thomson Mason (1787–1850)
John Thomson Mason was an American lawyer, United States marshal, Secretary of Michigan Territory from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution.-Early life and education:...
(1787–1850), and John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873); and first cousin twice removed of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
(1811–1843).