George Mason IV (1725 - 1792)

Born 11 Dec 1725 in Fairfax, Fairfax, Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Eilbeck) Mason — married 3 Apr 1750 in Mattawoman Plantation, Charles County, Maryland

Husband of Sarah Brent — married 11 Apr 1780 in Fairfax, Virginia, Estados Unidos de América

Descendants

Died 7 Oct 1792 at age 66 in Fairfax Parish, Fairfax, Virginia, United States [uncertain]

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George Mason IV participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776

American Manifestation of the Enlightenment

That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural Rights… among which are the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursueing and obtaining Happiness and Safety.

— George Mason. Virginia Declaration of Rights, May, 1776

George Mason on how to impeach: ^[1]

• “No point is of more importance than that of the right of impeachment. Shall any man be above Justice…who can commit the most extensive injustice?”

• “Why is the [impeachment] provision restrained to treason and bribery?” Receiving no satisfactory answer, Mason answered his own question by moving to “extend the power of impeachments…to add maladministration.”

George Mason IV (11 Dec 1725 – 7 Oct 1792)

George Mason IV was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Born the son of George Mason III and Ann Thomson Mason, George Mason IV became an American Patriot. He married Anna Eilbeck in 1750. They had five sons and four daughters. After she died, he married Sarah Brent in 1780.

In 1787, Mason was a delegate and speaker at the Constitution Convention. He believed in the separation of church and state, and was a strong proponent of individual rights over centralized government.

Initially a leader of the Anti-Federalists, he supported the Constitution after the Bill of Rights was adopted, exerting great influence in its drafting.

He favored popular elections of government officials, unrestricted admission of new western states, and a three-party government.

Although a slaveholder who felt that, "every slave master is born a petty tyrant," Mason favored abolition, supporting the halt to future importation of slaves.

In recognition to his dedication to his principles during the Age of Reason, he was called the American Manifestation of the Enlightenment. Mason died in Virginia on 7 Oct 1792, and was buried on the grounds of Gunston Hall.^[2]

Vitals

George Mason IV was a Virginia colonist.

b. 11 Dec 1725 Mason family plantation Fairfax Co, Virginia (VA).

d. 07 Oct 1792 Gunston Hall, Mason Neck, VA

parents: George Mason III and Ann Thomson

Family

George Mason IV married 4 Apr 1750 Ann Eilbeck (d. 1773), daughter of William Eilbeck

Issue:

1. George Mason V (30 Apr 1753 - 05 Dec 1796) m. 22 Apr 1784 Elizabeth Mary Ann "Betsy" Barnes Hooe
2. Ann "Nancy" Eilbeck (Mason) Johnson (13 Jan 1755 - 1814) m. 04 Feb 1789 Rinaldo Johnson
3. William Mason (d.1757) d. young: abt 1 yr old
4. William Mason (22 Oct 1757 - 1818) m. 11 Jul 1793 Ann Stuart
5. Thomson Mason
6. Sarah Eilbeck (Mason) McCarty
7. Mary Thomson (Mason) Cooke
8. John Mason
9. Elizabeth (Mason) Thornton
10. Thomas Mason
11. James Mason
12. Richard Mason

George Mason IV married in 1780 Sarah Brent (b. c. 1728)^[3]

Property

George Mason owned Gunston Hall Plantation.^{[4] [5]} He wrote his will from Gunston Hall in 1773, and there he died in 1792.^[6]

Lands in Charles County, Maryland

• Index to the properties in Charles County Maryland for George Mason between 1721-1788^[7][8]

The following Lands in Charles County, Maryland are from the transcribed will of George Mason:^[9]

• Lands on the Chickamucon & Mattawoman Creeks, to son William
• Barbadoes, an Island in the Patowmac, a patent he received from the Lord Proprietor in Maryland, to son John Mason
• Lands on Goose Bay & the Potowmac, to son Thomas Mason

• Pt. Benedits, granted to Bennett Marchegay
• Mason's fields, granted to his mother Mrs Ann Mason
• a tract of 150 acres without any particular name where Henry Fletcher formerly lived that he purchased of Henry Aspenall, originally called Fletcher's Addition
• the lands between Chickamuncon Creek & Goose Bay

• Lands ner Ft Cumberland patented in my name in trust for the Ohio Company, to be conveyed by deeds

Legacy

• Four U.S. states have named counties in George Mason's honor. They are: Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia.
• George Mason University, part of the public state university system in Virginia, is also named in his honor.

Death

George Mason wrote his will in 1773, and it was proven in 1792.^[6] Please see the transcribed will here: Will of George Mason IV, Charles County, Maryland

A memorial may be viewed at Find A Grave: Memorial #681, which describes his burial as Mason Family Cemetery, Lorton, Fairfax. Elsewhere, his burial or memorial is described as Gunston Hall, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia.^[10]

Slaves

George Mason IV was one of the largest slaveholders in Fairfax County — possibly second only to George Washington. He had thirty-six slaves at the time of his death. His will names them. Please see List of Named Slaves in George Mason IV Will for more information about the enslaved of George Mason.

Sources

1. ↑ Unger, Harlow Giles. The Founders' Furious Impeachment Debate--and Benjamin Franklin's Modest Proposal. 13 Oct 2019. Accessed 14 Dec 2019. Citing: Farrand, Max - ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Vol II: Friday, 20 Jul 1787. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 1966, p.63-70. And, Madison, James. Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. 1987, p. 331-6. New York, NY: W W Norton & Co.
2. ↑ Biographical extract authored by Kit and Morgan Benson.
3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors,"George Mason," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 14 Dec 2019. Citing Copeland, Pamela C; MacMaster, Richard K. 1975. The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland. University Press of Virginia.
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunston_Hall
5. ↑ https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/gunston-hall/
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Maryland, Charles County, wills: "Maryland, Charles County, wills"
   Catalog: Maryland, Charles County, wills MD Charles County Wills 1791-1801 T2721/C681-12, AK 11, 1 Jan 1791–31 Dec 1801
   Film number: 105435311 > image 113 of 661
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C397-5SGC-W (accessed 15 August 2022)
   • this will was found in Charles Co, MD, Will Bk AK-11 p.109-127
7. ↑ Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records & Indices for Charles County Maryland https://mdlandrec.net/main/dsp_viewer.cfm?cid=CH&sp=139&view=bookview&status=a&di=y&ImTyp=current&SrTyp=I&SinglePage=0
   • Index p.139
8. ↑ Charles County Maryland Land Record Books also known as Libers https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/427744?availability=Family%20History%20Library
9. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Will_of_George_Mason_IV%2C_Charles_County%2C_Maryland
10. ↑ "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch: indexed 24 Jun 2015, George Mason, died 1792; citing BillionGraves (www.billiongraves.com: 2012), Burial at Gunston Hall, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia, United States.

• George Mason

See also:

• Gunstonhall.org
• The history of Truro Parish in Virginia by Slaughter, Philip, 1808-1890; Goodwin, Edward Lewis, 1855-1924 Published 1908
• The Five George Masons, by Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. McMaster; University of Virginia Press; USA; 2016.
• Wikidata: Item Q532329, en:Wikipedia

Acknowledgements

Kathie Llewellyn and Allan Thomas contributed to this profile.