Mason was born on April 18, 1799, in Hicksford (now Emporia) in Greensville County, Virginia.[1] A member of the prominent Mason Family of Virginia, he was a descendant of Francis Mason, who was an Englishman that migrated to Virginia in the early 1600s.[2]
Mason entered private practice in Greensville County from 1819 to 1821.[1] He continued private practice in Southampton County, Virginia, from 1821 to 1831.[1] He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1823 to 1827, and a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1827 to 1831.[1] He was commonwealth's attorney for Greensville County from 1827 to 1831.[1] He was a delegate to the Virginia constitutional conventions of 1829 and 1850.[3] In 1847, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.[4]
Mason married Mary Ann Fort, the daughter of a prominent land-owner, in 1821 and became a planter himself, as well as continuing as a lawyer. He owned Fortsville located near Grizzard, Sussex County, Virginia.[5]
USS Mason (DD-191) from 1920 to 1940, and USS Mason (DDG-87) from 2003 to present, were named in honor of Secretary of the Navy John Y. Mason, sharing the honor on DDG-87 with another individual of the same last name.[citation needed]
Electoral history
1831; Mason was elected with 57.88% of the vote, defeating Independent Richard Eppes.[citation needed]
Williams, Frances Leigh (1967). "The Heritage and Preparation of a Statesman, John Young Mason, 1799–1859". Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 75 (3): 305–330. JSTOR4247323.
External links
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