John Y. Mason

John Young Mason (April 18, 1799 – October 3, 1859) was a

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]

He received an

Mason was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat from Virginia's 2nd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 22nd, 23rd and 24th United States Congresses and served from March 4, 1831, until his resignation January 11, 1837.^[3] He was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for the 24th United States Congress.^[3] Following his departure from Congress, he resumed private practice in Hicksford from 1837 to 1841.^[1]

Federal judicial service

Mason was nominated by President

Later career

Mason was appointed the 16th

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]

Mason died on October 3, 1859, in Paris in the French Empire.^[1] His remains were conveyed to the United States and interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.^[3]

Honors

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]}
• 1833; Mason was re-elected unopposed.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850

References

Further reading

• 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.
  JSTOR 4247323
  .

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Y. Mason.

• United States Congress. "John Y. Mason (id: M000220)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mason, John Young". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 840.
• John Young Mason at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.