Hugh Mason (bef. 1606 - 1678)

Born before 23 Mar 1606 in Dorking, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Husband of Hester (Wells) Mason — married 23 Jan 1632 in St Peter, Maldon, Essex, England

Descendants

Died 10 Oct 1678 after age 72 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

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Hugh Mason migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 5, p. 74) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Capt. Hugh Mason was KIA during King Philip's War.

Hugh Mason, son of Richard Mason and Joan (Allchin) Mason of Dorking, Co. Surrey, England, was christened there on Mar 23, 1605/6.^[1]

In his mother Joan Mason's will, written July 5 1641, she names, among others, her son Hugh Mason, now living in New England. ^[1]

In the spring of 1634, at the age of 28 he sailed for Massachusetts with his wife Esther who was twenty two years old, on the Ship Francis. ^{[2] [3] [4] [1]}

He was one of the first settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts being a tanner by trade. ^[5]

His first homestead was 3 acres, however he received additional land grants and purchased properties, eventually accumulating over 150 acres. ^[3] His land grants and possessions included 21 acres of upland; 31 acres upland of the Great Division; 3 acres of remote meadow in 'Lott 8'; 71 acre farm in the upland from the 9th division; 3 acres of plowland and 35 acres of upland from the Great Division, the second division and the 5th 'Lott'. ^[6]

Beginning with 1638 he served for twenty nine years as selectman the longest period on record in that office. He also performed duties similar to those later assigned to a justice of the peace married couples in 1658 and for twenty years thereafter and witnessed with a father's joy the marriage of his two daughters May 20, 1668 the first recorded double wedding in this town. ^[3]

Serving as deputy to the General Court for ten years he was a member of important committees. In May 1644 he represented Watertown at a Court of Election as Leift Mason and was chosen Captain of the Watertown train band in May 1652, holding that position until his death in 1678. The training field was established at the junction of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. The History of Sudbury, in an extended and graphic story of the Sudbury fight, speaks of the noble work done by Capt. Mason and his company who through 'God's fafor' were sent from Watertown April 21, 1676. He was at that time more than 70 years old and it is unknown if he led the men he had trained. He was one of a committee of three to provide a plan of defense for Middlesex County. ^[3]

Timeline

• 1634/5 March 4: Admitted a freeman. ^[5]
• 1636: July 25: Hugh Mason received 30 acres in the first division of land grants. ^[6]
• 1636: February 28: Granted 3 acres of plowland. ^[6]
• 1637: June 26: Granted 3 acres of remote meadow. ^[6]
• 1638: April 9: Granted 6 acres of the town plot. ^[6]
• 1638: December10: One of the freeman chosen to order the Civil affairs of the town for the following year. (Selectman). ^[6]
• 1639 to 1678 inclusive: Selectman. ^{[5] [3] [6]}
• 1642: May 10: Granted 71 acres in 'Lott 9' as farmland. ^[6]
• 1642: One of the townsmen hired to build a fence for the burying place. ^[6]
• 1642: Hugh Mason and George Munnings ordered to search and seal leather. ^[6]
• 1644: 45: 60: 61: 64: 71: 74: 75: 76: 77: Representative. ^[5]
• 1647: After the appointment of seven men to fairly lay out the remote meadow for the town inhabitants, Lieut. Mason, due to his extensive duties in town affairs, asked to be released from that duty, which was granted. He was however, one assigned to settle any disputes between the inhabitants and the surveyor in assigning grants. ^[6]
• 1649: 1651: Left. Mason assigned to set out specific lots. ^[6]
• 1651: May 19: Hugh Mason chosen to assign Constables and take their accounts in the collection of the town rate. ^[6]
• 1651/2: Hugh Mason submitted as account, noting he had received 74L 9s for finding all the materials and building the 'towne house' and paying others for services. ^[6]
• 1652: December 22: Hugh Mason's town rate assigned at 3L 10s 9d. ^[6]
• 1653: October 22: Among those chosen to assign seats in the meeting house. ^[6]
• 1656: 63: Again, among those chosen to assign the seating at the meeting house. ^[6]
• He was for many years one of the three Commissioners appointed by the County Court to determine small cases. This was before the appointment of Justices of the Peace Oct. 30, 1657. ^{[5] [6]}
• He was appointed by the Court as one of a Committee to attend to the defects in several bridges in the County. ^[5]
• 1660: December 18: appointed to serve on a Committee to take account of John Steadman County Treasurer and make a levy etc. ^[5]
• 1663: Capt. Mason and john Coolidge Sr., chosen to receive the of the 'Cowpenn and lay it out for the use of proprietors.'^[6]
• 1665: Capt. Mason among those assigned to go throughout the town to determine how the children were being taught to read and given religious intstruction. ^[6]
• 1668: Captain Mason and Deacon Bright chosen to lay out the highway through Corporal Hammond's land. ^[6]
• 1668: Constable. ^[6]
• 1674: Captain Mason, among others, assigned to set the pastor's rate and the town rate.^[6]
• 1674: Assigned to procure from the printer, copies of the capital lawes, and see that each household was provided one. ^[6]
• 1675: October 29: Received 1L 12s from the town for his service at the court. ^[6]
• 1676: November : Received 10L 18s 3d for service at the court and for money laid out for the purchase of bullets and powder. ^[6]
• 1677: Paid 2L 16s for serving as deputy to the court. ^[6]

Military

• 1644: May 4: Lieutenant. ^{[5] [3]}
• 1651: December 20: Left. Mason assigned to 'dispose of the town's ammunition' and 20s per year was allowed for the safe keeping of those stores. ^[6]
• 1652 May 5: Chosen Captain of the train band. ^{[5] [3]}
• 1652 to 1678: Served as Captain until his death. ^[3]
• Led a band of forty men in the defense of Groton. ^[7]
• 1675: Captain Hugh Mason among those of Watertown to serve in the defense of the county. ^[7]
• 1676: March 15: Captain Hugh Mason of Watertown was appointed to a committee of four to provide defense of the towns of Middlesex County. ^[7]
• 1676: April 21: Captain Mason marched his men to Sudbury to defend the town against a force of about 200 Indians. Is is unknown if at his late of 75, if Capt. Mason was actually engaged in the fighting himself. ^{[7] [8]}

Family

His wife Hester Wells was baptized at St. Peter, Maldon, Essex, England on July 21, 1611, the daughter of Thomas and Helen (Pilgrim) Wells. ^[4] They were married on January 23, 1632/3, at St. Peter, Maldon. ^{[9] [1] [10]}

He died on October 10, 1678 aged 73. ^{[10] [5] [1]}

He is buried in the Old Burying Place at Watertown, Massachusetts (Plot: 450). His inscription reads: HERE LIETH ye BODY OF CAPT. HUGH MASON WHO DECEASED OCTOBER ye XTH 1678 ANNO ÆTATIS 73 HE THAT THUS THOUGHT OF DEATH IN LIFES UNCERTENE DOUBTLESS NOW A LIFE THAT BRINGETH ETERNITIE ^[11]

and a second inscription reads: MR HUGH MASON CAPT OF ye TRAINE BAND IN THIS TOWN AGED 73 YEARS DIED OCTOBER THE XTH 1678 HE OR HER yt LOOKS HERE ON LIVE FOR TO LEARN THAT DIE THOU MUST AND AFTER COME TO JUDGEMENT JUST ^[11]

His widow Esther Mason submitted testimony to the court that her husband's will was written the 8th of the 12th month: 77 [February 8, 1678]. In it will he names:

• my loving wife
• son John Mason
• daughter Hannah Brooks
• daughter Mary Estabrook
• daughter Sarah Gardner
• sons Daniel and Joseph Mason ^[12]

His wife Esther died on May 1, 1692. ^[5]

Children

1. Hannah born September 23, 1636; married October 17, 1653, Capt. Joshua Brooks of Concord, eldest son of Capt. Thomas Brooks. ^{[6] [5]}
2. Ruth born ___  ; buried December 17, 1640. ^{[6] [5]}
3. Mary born December 18, 1640; married May 20, 1668 Rev. Joseph Estabrook of Concord. ^{[6] [5]}
4. John born on January 1, 1644^[6]; died about 1730; married Elizabeth Hammond who died on November 13, 1715. ^[5]
5. Joseph born August 10, 1646; died on July 22, 1702. ^[6][5]
6. Daniel born on February 19, 1648/9 ^[6]; graduated from Harvard College in 1666. ^[5] Daniel went as surgeon in a vessel from Charlestown, James Ellison master, about 1678 that was captured by a corsair and carried to Algiers. Daniel died in slavery 1698.^[13]
7. Sarah born on September 25, 1651; married May 20, 1668 Capt. Andrew Gardner of Muddy River (Brookline). ^[6] He was lost in the expedition to Canada.^[5]

Research notes

Watertown Births

Mason, Danill, s. Hugh and Hester, 19: 12m: 1648. (p. 14)

Mason, Hannah, d. Hugh and Ester, 23: 7m: 1636. (p. 4)

Mason, John, s. Hugh and Ester, Jan. 1, 1644. (p. 28)

Mason, Joseph, s. Hugh and Hester, 10: 6m: 1646. (p. 28)

Mason, Mary, d. Hugh and Ester, 18: 10m: 1640. MCR (p. )

Mason, Sarah, d. Hugh and Hester, Sept. 25, 1651. (p. 15)

Watertown Marriages

Mason, Hannah and Joshuah Brooks, 17: 8m: 1653. (p. 16)

Mason, Mary and Joseph Esterbrooke, May 20, 1668. (p. 30)

Mason, Sary and Andrew Gardener, May 20, 1668. (p. 30)

Watertown Deaths

MASON, Hugh, Capt., Oct. 10, 1678. (p. 45)

MASON, Ester, w. Hugh, May 21, 1692. (p. 28)

Mason, Ruth, d. Hugh and Ester, bur. 17: 10m: 1640. MCR (p. 8)

Mason, Joseph, July 22, ––––, a. 56 y. 12 d. (p. 19)^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Fiske, Jane Fletcher. "The English Background of Hugh1 Mason of Watertown, Massachusetts," in: The American Genealogist, Volume 78: No. 3, D. L. Jacobus, New Haven, Connecticut, 2003, p. 161-4
2. ↑ Hotten: James C. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men sold for a term of years; apprentices; children stolen; maidens pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700 : with their ages and the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars; from mss. preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England, London, England, 1874, p. 179
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Watertown's Military History D. Clapp & Son, Printers, Boston, Massachusetts, 1907 p. 9-10
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Threfall, John Brooks. Twenty-six Great Migration Colonists to New England & Their Origins, Great Britain, 1993
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17} Bond, Henry & Horatio Gates Jones. Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and Weston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1860 p. 356-7
6. ↑ ^{6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 6.28 6.29 6.30 6.31 6.32 6.33 6.34 6.35} Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings with the Land Grants and Possession, and the First Book and Supplement of Births, Deaths and Marriages, The Historical Society, Press of Fred G. Barker, Watertown, MA, 1894
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Hudson, Alfred. S. The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1638-1889, The Town of Sudbury, Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1889. p. 202-3: 229-32
8. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register: Volume 40. NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 1886 p. 403
9. ↑ Threlfall, John Brooks. The Ancestry of Hester Wells of Watertown, Mass. in: The American Genealogist, Volume 54, D. L. Jacobus, New Haven, Connecticut, 1978, p. 76-80
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Anderson, Robert C. The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England 1634-1638: Vol. V, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999 p. 79
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Find A Grave Memorial# 27162100 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27162100
12. ↑ Case 14757: p. 1-10: Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org)
13. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, NEHGS Boston, Massachusetts, 1878. p. 233

• Descendants of Capt. Hugh Mason in America [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Image 32 of 881

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of Shortened files.ged on 30 December 2010. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• This person was created through the import of Acrossthepond.ged on 21 February 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• This person was created through the import of Shortened files.ged on 30 December 2010. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• This person was created through the import of Holmes.ged on 20 May 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• WikiTree profile Mason-1376 created through the import of Ancestors of PBHowe.ged on Jun 6, 2011 by Buck Howe. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Buck and others.
• William Ramage, firsthand knowledge.