George Mason III
| George Mason III | |
|---|---|
| Born |
George Mason 1690 Chopawamsic, Stafford County, Colony of Virginia |
| Died | March 5, 1735 (aged 44–45) Potomac River, Fairfax County, Colony of Virginia |
| Cause of death | drowning |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | House of Burgesses member, Stafford County sheriff, Stafford County county lieutenant, Stafford County militia colonel, planter, businessperson |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Stevens Thomson |
| Children |
George Mason IV Mary Thomson Mason Selden Thomson Mason |
| Parent(s) |
George Mason II Mary Fowke |
George Mason III (1690 – 5 March 1735) was an early American planter, businessman, and statesman. Mason was the father of George Mason IV, a Founding Father of the United States.
Mason was born in 1690 at Chopawamsic plantation in Stafford County, Virginia. He was the eldest son of George Mason II and his first wife Mary Fowke.
At the time of his father's death in 1716, Mason was 27 and already a man of prominence in Stafford County. Like his father, Mason increased the family's property and social standing in Stafford County, and continued a tradition of leadership and public service. Also like his father, Mason served as a colonel in the Stafford County militia and represented Stafford in the House of Burgesses between 1715 and 1726. It was during his tenure as a burgess in Williamsburg that Mason met and married his wife Ann Stevens Thomson. He served as County Lieutenant of Stafford in 1719. Mason also served as sheriff of Stafford County.
Mason amassed enormous land holdings in Stafford, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax counties in Virginia. Mason also increased his land holdings by acquiring large grants south of the Occoquan River, which were later named Woodbridge by his grandson Thomas Mason. Mason leased most of his properties out as smaller farms with their rent paid in tobacco yield. Other sources of Mason's income came from fisheries and a ferry service carrying King's Highway across the Occoquan River. Because Mason owned land on both sides of the Occoquan River, he enjoyed a monopoly on river crossings as well as on the fishing rights in Belmont Bay.
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