Family Tree Tuesday – George Mason IV

George Mason IV

George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is considered as one of the “Founding Fathers” of the United States as he is called the “Father of the United States Bill of Rights” along with James Madison. The Bill of Rights were based on the earlier Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason had drafted in 1776.

George Mason IV was born on December 11, 1725 to George and Ann Thomson Mason. George III died in 1735 in a boating accident on the Potomac. After his father died, George IV lived with his uncle John Mercer, a colonial American lawyer and author. Mason had no formal schooling and essentially educated himself from his uncle’s library. He married Ann Eilbeck and had twelve children.

George Mason V, the eldest son of George IV and Ann, was a businessman and militia leader. He joined the Fairfax County Independent Militia in 1775 and was elected Ensign. He commanded a milita company in 1776 sent to Hampton, Virginia to protect the coast from Lord Dunmore’s assaults, but was forced to quit the military on account of his increasingly poor health. He developed a rheumatic disorder that plagued him for the remainder of his life.

The fourth child of George and Ann was William Mason, he was a militiaman in the American Revolutionary War and a prominent Virginia planter. During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Fairfax Militia fighting under Henry Lee III in South Carolina. Mason was presented with a sword by General George Washington, which was said to have been given to him by Charles III of Spain.

Did you know Mason IV refused to sign the Constitution? He objected to the proposed Constitution because it was lacking a “declaration of rights”.

Check out George Mason IV’s family tree and see how you maybe related!