Lt. Francis Mason, Ancient Planter

Lt. Francis Mason (1st), Cavalier & Adventurer, and Ancient Planter of Jamestown, Virginia Company was born before 1585, in England, and died before 7 November 1648 at Lower Norfolk, VA, and was buried on 15 Nov 1648 at Elizabeth City, VA.

His known children Anne & Francis were with 1st wife Mary; they were not listed in his 1648 estate. Lemuel Mason and Elizabeth Theleball were with by 2nd wife Alice, and all three were listed in Francis Mason’s 1648 estate.

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XXXii. CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS: ANCIENT PLANTERS: INTRODUCTION

The following list includes those who are known to have come to Virginia before the close of the year 1616, survived the massacre, appear in the Muster of 1624/5 as then living in Virginia, and to most of whom the term "Ancient Planter" may with justification be applied.

Francis Mason, Aged 40, In the John and Francis, 1613, with wife Anne and daughter Anne. Lt. Francis Mason, patent Aug, 31, 1642, p. 134; Sept. 29, 1643, p. 151.

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Lt. Francis Mason (1), is the American Patriarch of this genealogy (Torrence & Allied Families) arriving in 1613 at Jamestown with the third investment of the Jamestown Corporation aboard the ship "‘JOHN & FRANCIS' " with his first wife Mary Dickman, whom he wed in England, and their daughter Ann Mason . "He [Lt. Francis Mason (1)] is believed to be the first person by the name of Mason to arrive in this country, and is the subject of this sketch."

As relates to Francis Mason's second Wife, Alice [Ganey], who is the mother of Colonel Lemuel Mason, b circa 1628 consider:

"9 November, 1648, Alice Mason, relict of Francis Mason, deceased, and Lemuel Mason, conveyed land to Mr. James Thelaball, 15 November, 1648. His widow, and son Lemuel, petitioned to administer his estate, and letters were granted'. [double cross] Alice Mason's will bears date 15 September, 1702; proven 1706."

As to the substance of Alice Ganey from a geneologic and social aspect, consider:

"Alice Ganey is Matriarch of the bulk of the principals identified in this genealogy. Born in 1598, Alice came to America in 1622 aboard the ship "Margarett & John." The Masons were closely connected with the Hancocks, the Ganeys, and Thomas Lee. Lieutenant Francis Mason died before November 7, 1648."

Family

Francis is seen as Son of Francis Mason I and Elizabeth Price. Also seen as son of Francis Mason and an unnamed woman. This 1st Francis Mason also married Mary Dickman.

Lt. Francis Mason came to America, with his first wife, Mary, in 1613, aboard the ship John and Francis.[1] They were married in England and had one child named Ann when they came. It is unknown if this daughter Ann ever married and Francis, their son who was born in Virginia, is believed to have died young.

He married Mary (--) c 1620. Francis Mason and a wife Mary were listed in the census of 1623/4 at Elizabeth City.

Mary Dickman, Wife of Francis Mason — married 17 Aug 1606 in England. (?)

Children

1. Ann DISPUTED“ Ann Mason was born in England about 1610 to Lieutenant Francis Mason and his wife Mary. The family came to America on the ship "John and Francis" which landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1613. Ann probably went back to England for schooling as she is not shown in her father's household in the census taken for 1624. She is shown returning on the ship "Merchant's Hope" in 1634. She married William Stafford who lived in her father's home. They married in 1640 and stayed in Elizabeth City, VA for a short while, then moved to York County, VA. They had a son, William II. William Stafford I died and his estate inventory was presented to the court in York County on March 3, 1644. Ann married for the second time to Rev. John Cluverius. She died 1642.” Note N171"From Virginia, Prominent Families, Volume II, Chapter XVII, The Mason Family -- The Lower Norfolk Masons, written by Fanny B. Hunter. Hunter includes a citing of Mr. Ellis, which first appeared in the "Virginia Historical Magazine" Volume II. Mr. Ellis was of the opinion that two of Lieutenant Francis Mason's children, Ann Mason and Francis Mason, died before reaching the age of 18.
2. Francis (2) Mason b. c 1620. Franics was listed in the Muster of 7 February 1624/25 at Elizabeth City, Virginia. He was shown as Francis Mason, born in Virginia in Francis Mason's Muster.

He married Alice Gany (Gany?) in 1624 at Virginia. She may have been Alice Gany who was named in his patent of 1642.

Francis Mason and Alice (Ganey) Mason had children

1. Lemuel (4) Mason+ b. 1629, d. b 15 Sep 1702. He married Ann Seawell, daughter of Henry Seawell and Alice (-), before 27 February 1649/50 at Virginia.1
2. Elizabeth (5) Mason b. c 1631, d. b 15 Mar 1707/8 . Elizabeth married a James Theleball and died in 1709.

When Francis died In 1648, his wife, Alice, and son, Lemuel, administered his estate.[4]. Alice is believed to have died in 1655 in Virginia.

Direct maternal line descendants of Mary Gayney have been mtDNA tested and match King Richard III.[6] Direct maternal line descendants of Mary Gayney have been mtDNA tested and match King Richard III.[7]

From Tyler’s Biographies

[Page 285] Mason, Lieutenant Francis, born in 1585, came to Virginia in 1613 with his wife Anne and daughter Anne. He married (second) in 1623-1625, Alice ———. He was justice of Lower Norfolk county from 1637 to 1648; sheriff in 1646. He died in 1648, leaving a daughter Elizabeth, who married James Thelaball (a Huguenot immigrant), and sons, Lemuel and James (q. v.).
[Page 286] Mason, Colonel Lemuel, son of Lieutenant Francis Mason, was born in Virginia about 1628; was justice of Lower Norfolk county from 1649; sheriff, 1664 and 1668; member of the house of burgesses, 1654, 1657, 1658, 1659, 1660, 1663, 1666, 1675, 1685, 1693; colonel of the militia in 1680, and presiding justice. His will, dated June 17, 1695, was proved September 15, 1702. He married Anne, daughter of Henry Seawell, of Seawell's Point (Sewell's Point).
[Page 286] Mason, James, a son of Francis Mason, of Lower Norfolk county, was a burgess for Surry county in 1654; he died about 1670, leaving a son Francis, born in 1647, who married Elizabeth Aston, widow of Thomas Binns, and daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Aston, of Westover.

http://vagenweb.org/tylers_bios/vol1-27.htm

Lt. Francis Mason came to Virginia in 1613, with his wife, Mary, and daughter, Anne. He married secondly, Alice, and was sheriff and justice of Norfolk county.

He had by his first wife:

• Francis (probably ancestor of the Surry Masons), and
• Lemuel by his second.

He died about 1648.

“Francis .. came to Virginia in 1613 with his wife, Anne (sic Mary) and daughter Anne. He married (second) in 1623-1625, Alice ___. He was justice of Lower Norfolk county from 1637 to 1648; sheriff in 1646. He died in 1648, leaving a daughter Elizabeth, who married James Thelaball (a Huguenot immigrant0, and sons, Lemuel and James (q.v.).”

“Francis Mason and Alice Mason were identified among settlers living at "Elizabeth Cittie" in Virginia, February 7, 1624/5”

"His plantation may be identified through the patent issued Aug. 31, 1642 to Lieut. Francis Mason for 1,250 acres at "Hogpen Point," near land of Capt. Thomas Willoughby. His headrights included Francis Mason, Mary Mason his first wife, Ann Mason his daughter, and Alice Gany his second wife ..."[As of 1642, therefore, a daughter Ann was either single, or this record was carried forward from a time when she was single.]

"from Lower Norfolk County Records, WIlls and Deeds C, December 15th 1651: "Recorded 15 Jan 1651/1. Dated 7 Nov 1648. Agreement betw Alice Mason, widow and relict of Mr. Francis Mason, dec'd and Mr. Lemuell Mason of the one part and Mr. James Thelaball of the other part.

• (1) 'That the samd Lemuel Mason shall uppon demand give and assure unto the said Mr. Thelaball the Lands called the Mayne right against Hogg Island being about Two hundred acres, which the one halfe of the said Hogg Island, which Hogg Island is to be devided by fower men to be indifferenly chosen, or by the said Lemuel and James, one of them to make the devision, and the other to choose as they shall best agree'.
• (2) Alice and Lemuel to give James "two thousand foote of sawen planke".
• (3) Alice and Lemuel to give James "as much glasse and leade, as to make fower such glasse windowes as are in the now dwelling house wherein they remayne".
• (4) "That the said Alice and Lemuel shall uppon demand give and Deliver unto the said James Six silver spoones". Signed Alice Mason, Lemuell Mason, James Thelaball. Wits: Tho. Lambert, Rich. Conquest, John Sibsey, Math. Phillippes. ... "

"There is no mention of William Stafford, Ann Mason or Francis Mason."

References

• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0604...
• http://vagenweb.org/tylers_bios/vol1-27.htm
• http://espl-genealogy.org/MilesFiles/site/p579.htm#i57839 cites
  • [S888] John Frederick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5, p. 569 (Mason Family).
  • [S887] John Frederick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5, p. 58 (Muster of Elizabeth City).
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~deschart/z0001133.html
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mason-1718
• http://www.jamestowne.org/martin---mason.html
• Note N171"From Virginia, Prominent Families, Volume II, Chapter XVII, The Mason Family -- The Lower Norfolk Masons, written by Fanny B. Hunter. Hunter includes a citing of Mr. Ellis, which first appeared in the "Virginia Historical Magazine" Volume II. Mr. Ellis was of the opinion that two of Lieutenant Francis Mason's children, Ann Mason and Francis Mason, died before reaching the age of 18."
• QUISENBERRY, A. (1913). THE FIRST PIONEER FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA. Register of Kentucky State Historical Society, 11(32), 55-77. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23367151
• https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235408638.pdf page 50. “Adjoining one of Willoughby's tracts was Francis Mason, an ancient planter who also held land near Westover in Charles City County, The activities of major landowners like Thoroughgood, Willoughby, and Mason were examples of the fantastic growth of the Elizabeth River-Lyr\nhaven environs, where forty-four thousand acres were distributed between 1635 and 1639*”
• Cavaliers and Pioneers, AbSratts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623- 1800, IN FIVE VOLUMES, Abstracted and Indexed by Nell Marion Nugent, Virginia. Land Office, Richmond, Va. Introduction by Robert Armistead Stewart, Ph.D. and Patroness Agnes Bernadine Sitterding, VOLUME ONE, RICHMOND, VA.: Press of The Dietz Printing Co. 1934. Ancient Planters: The following list includes those who are known to have come to Virginia before the close of the year 1616, survived the massacre, appear in the Muster of 1624/5 as then living in Virginia, and to most of whom the term "Ancient Planter" may with justification be applied. Certain "Ancient Planters"—Samuel Jordan, for instance—had, at the time the Muster was taken, recently died. link “Francis Mason, Aged 40, In the John and Francis, 1613, with wife Anne and daughter Anne. Lt. Francis Mason, patent Aug, 31, 1642, p. 134; Sept. 29, 1643, p. 151.”
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Mason Colonel Lemuel Mason (born c. 1628) was an early American politician, justice, and militia colonel. He was a member of the House of Burgesses multiple times. Mason was born around 1628 in Virginia to Lieutenant Francis Mason and his second wife Alice.[1]
• 1. The Majors and their marriages. by Cabell, James Branch, 1879-1958. Publication date 1915. Page 46-47. Archive.Org
• Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary By Martha W. McCartney. Page 317. GoogleBooks Henry Ganey, died before 1628, servant in Francis Mason’s house, 1625. In September 1635, his brother William Ganey, ancient planter (died 1643), listed him as a head right and claimed his personal adventure.
• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/mason/7772/ Francis Mason (1st), b. 1584, who is frequently cited as the son of Francis Mason (0), b. 1566, of London, England.
• TORRENCE & Allied families, by Robert M. Torrence. 559p. 1938. Page 333- 336. Archive.Org Suggests sons Francis (by Mary) and James (by Alice) relocated to Surry County. Mr. Ellis disagrees, and finds no relationship between the Norfolk and Surry Mason families.
  • https://frostandgilchrist.com/getperson.php?personID=I18863&tree=fr... [Note by compiler: Information from the Torrence book should be viewed with caution, since it contains some errors relating to the MASON and allied families.] “[I]n the will of Margaret Cheeseman, widow, which was probated at St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, County Surrey, England, July 21, 1680 . . . , she bequeathed to the children of "my loving kinsman, Mr. Lemuel Mason, the elder, in Virginia; to cousin Elizabeth Thelabald (sister of Lemuel); to god-daughter Margaret Mason, who lives with me, executrix, in trust for her father Lemuel; to my kinswoman, Ann Ganey." . . . [Note by compiler: See the information relating to Margarett CHEESEMAN or CHEESMAN elsewhere in this database, including the text of her will.]”
• https://frostandgilchrist.com/getperson.php?personID=I18855&tree=fr...