| George Mason III | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Mason 1690 Chopawamsic, Stafford County, Colony of Virginia |
| Died | March 5, 1735 (aged 44–45) Potomac River, Fairfax County, Colony of Virginia |
| Cause of death | drowning |
| Residence | Chopawamsic, Stafford County, Virginia Stumps Neck, Charles County, Maryland |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | English American |
| Citizenship | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Occupation | House of Burgesses member, Stafford County sheriff, Stafford County county lieutenant, Stafford County militia colonel, planter, businessperson |
| Religion | Anglican |
| Spouse | Ann Stevens Thomson |
| Children | George Mason IV Mary Thomson Mason Selden Thomson Mason |
| Parents | George Mason II Mary Fowke |
| Relatives | father of George Mason IV |
George Mason III (1690 – 5 March 1735)[1][2][3][4] was an early American planter, businessman, and statesman. Mason was the father of George Mason IV, a Founding Father of the United States.[1][3][4]
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Mason was born in 1690 at Chopawamsic plantation in Stafford County, Virginia.[1][3][4] He was the eldest son of George Mason II and his first wife Mary Fowke.[1][3][4]
At the time of his father's death in 1716, Mason was 27 and already a man of prominence in Stafford County.[2] Like his father, Mason increased the family's property and social standing in Stafford County, and continued a tradition of leadership and public service.[2][5] Also like his father, Mason served as a colonel in the Stafford County militia and represented Stafford in the House of Burgesses between 1715 and 1726.[2][5][6] It was during his tenure as a burgess in Williamsburg that Mason met and married his wife Ann Stevens Thomson.[5] He served as County Lieutenant of Stafford in 1719.[6] Mason also served as sheriff of Stafford County.[2]
Mason amassed enormous land holdings in Stafford, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax counties in Virginia.[2] Mason also increased his land holdings by acquiring large grants south of the Occoquan River, which were later named Woodbridge by his grandson Thomas Mason.[5] Mason leased most of his properties out as smaller farms with their rent paid in tobacco yield.[2] Other sources of Mason's income came from fisheries and a ferry service carrying King's Highway across the Occoquan River.[2][5] Because Mason owned land on both sides of the Occoquan River, he enjoyed a monopoly on river crossings as well as on the fishing rights in Belmont Bay.[5]
In 1716, Mason accompanied the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition" led by Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood across the Blue Ridge and into the Shenandoah Valley.[2]
Mason married Ann Stevens Thomson, daughter of Stevens Thomson and his wife Dorothea, in 1721.[1][2][3][4] The couple had three children:[1][3][4]
A few years after his marriage to Ann, Mason relocated his family to Stump Neck plantation in Charles County, Maryland, relegating the Chopawamsic estate in Stafford County, Virginia to a secondary residence.[2]
Mason died in a ferry accident on 5 March 1735 on the Potomac River.[2][3][4] Soon after his death, Mason's widow and children returned to Chopawamsic.[2] At the time of his death, Mason owned 20,875 acres (84.48 km2) in Stafford County alone.[2]
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