Thomson Mason was born on 14 August 1733 in Prince William County, Virginia. He was the third and youngest child of Col. George and Ann (Thomson) Mason. He was eight years younger than his famous brother, George Mason of "Gunston Hall. " The father met his death by drowning when Thomson was two years old, and George eventually assumed a measure of guardianship over him, helping defray part of the cost of his education.
He was educated at William and Mary College, Va. ; studied law at the Middle Temple, London.
After some preparation under private tutors, Thomson went to England and was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1751. On his return from London he began the practice of law in his native state. He represented Stafford County in the Virginia Assembly from 1758 to 1761 and from 1765 to 1772; Loudoun County, from 1772 to 1774, and from 1777 to 1778. In the last named year he was elected one of the five judges of the general court, but in 1779 he was again in the Assembly as representative from Elizabeth City County. He resigned his seat that year, but his resignation was not accepted. He vacated it, however, by accepting a coroner's commission. His vigorous defense of American liberties came to a climax in the nine letters of a "British American, " which he wrote in the summer of 1774. In the concluding paragraph of the last letter he disclosed his identity. The theme of the letters was that Parliamentary Acts after 1607 were not binding on Virginia, a theme he developed by a copious use of references to English legal and constitutional documents. He suggested that the first Continental Congress be held in a Virginia or Maryland frontier town, where the members would be amply protected by the excellent marksmanship of the frontier riflemen. Throughout all of the letters he cautioned against rash moves and radical tendencies. America was to save England from the madness of her Parliament. Mason's best contribution to the reorganized Virginia government was his leadership in the move to conserve the work of George Rogers Clark, in the Northwest Campaign. In this connection he was the author and champion of the bill through which the Virginia Assembly organized the Northwest as the County of Illinois. Mason died on 26 February 1785 when only a few years beyond middle age.
During the Revolutionary period Virginia claimed the services of an array of lawyers unique in American annals. From the standpoint of legal knowledge and sheer ability, Mason was probably the chief among them. His independence and fearlessness and his unwillingness to sponsor measures merely on the basis of their popularity undoubtedly stood in the way of his political advancement. In 1783 he was again a member of the General Assembly. He advocated the exclusion of Loyalists from citizenship, and sought to regulate the payment of foreign and domestic debts, by canceling interest during the war and allowing for depreciation of the currency. He also opposed granting a permanent fund to Congress, but was willing to grant funds collected by state officers. Any inclination to assume that he benefited from the prestige and echoed the sentiments of his more famous elder brother is dispelled by the poignant appraisal of Jefferson, "T. Mason is a meteor whose path cannot be calculated". A hint of his political and social philosophy may be derived from a peculiar but emphatic provision in his will for the rearing of his minor children under such conditions that they would not "imbibe more exalted notions of their own importance than I could wish any child of mine to possess. "
He was twice married, first, in 1758 or 1759, to Mary King Barnes; and second, to Elizabeth (Westwood) Wallace. From the earlier of these unions there was born Stevens Thomson Mason who achieved greater distinction than his father, though he was probably no more able. It is perhaps worthy of note in view of Thomson Mason's interest in the Northwest, that the grandson of Stevens, also named Stevens Thomson Mason, was the "boy governor" of Michigan Territory, in its critical years, and the first governor of the state.
1690 - 5 Mar 1735
1699 - 1762
December 11, 1725 – October 7, 1792 Was a Virginia planter and politician, and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three delegates, together with fellow Virginian Edmund Randolph and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who refused to sign the constitution.
______ - 21 October 1771
10 April 1778–5 May 1822
26 February 1769–29 August 1817
20 December 1780–1826
24 August 1763–12 January 1813
July 24, 1782–1862 Was a prominent Virginia farmer and businessman.
December 29, 1760 – May 10, 1803 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 (1794–1803).
15 March 1765 – 10 December 1824 Was an American jurist and Attorney General of Maryland in 1806
_____ - 1873
