George Mason I
| George Mason I | |
|---|---|
| Born |
George Mason June 5, 1629 Pershore, England |
| Died | 1686 (aged 56–57) Stafford County, Colony of Virginia |
| Resting place | Accokeek, Stafford County, Virginia |
| Residence | Accokeek, Stafford County, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Cavalier, Parliament of England member, House of Burgesses member, Stafford County sheriff, Stafford County county lieutenant, justice of the peace, Stafford County militia colonel, planter, businessperson |
| Spouse(s) | Mary French Frances Norgrave |
| Children | George Mason II |
| Relatives | great-grandfather of George Mason IV |
George Mason I (5 June 1629 – 1686) was the American progenitor of the prominent American landholding and political Mason family. Mason was the great-grandfather of George Mason IV, a Founding Father of the United States.
George Mason was born in Pershore, England, on 5 June 1629. He was the third of seven children of yeoman farmer Thomas Mason and his wife Ann French. George Mason was christened at Pershore Abbey, Holy Cross Church, Pershore, Worcestershire, on 10 June 1629.
George Mason I was a Cavalier during the reign of Charles I of England. Thomas Mason was against Charles I's execution in 1649. He became a captain, commanding a troop of horse in Charles II's army. When the Royalist forces were defeated at the Battle of Worcester by Oliver Cromwell in 1651. Being on the losing side George and younger brother William Mason hurriedly left England.
Mason probably arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on the ship Assurance in 1652. Mason was accompanied by his younger brother William, cousins and neighbors from England, Thomas and Gerard Fowke of Staffordshire. He settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia in the early 1650s and was associated with the naming of Stafford County when it was formed from Westmoreland County in 1664. Mason eventually settled permanently near an Indian village along Accokeek Creek on a hill between present-day State Routes 608 (Brooke Road) and 621 (Marlborough Point Road) in Stafford County. He named his residence Accokeek, later rechristened Rose Hill. The property was named for the now extinct Accokeek tribe which inhabited present-day Prince George's County, Maryland. Accokeek plantation began as 650 acres (2.6 km2) and gradually increased to 1,150 acres (4.7 km2) in size.
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