Marion-Taylor-Monongalia County WV Archives Biographies.....Mason, John W. January 13, 1842 - April 23, 1917
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Connie Burkett MarionWVusgwArch@gmail.com September 22, 2011, 5:25 pm

Source: (1) West Virginia and Its People, Vol.II; (2) Bench and Bar of West Virginia
Author: (1) by Thomas Condit Miller and Hu Maxwell; (2) by George Wesley Atkinson

West Virginia and Its People
by Thomas Condit Miller and Hu Maxwell
Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1913
Volume II, pages 577-579

The Mason family to which Hon. John W. Mason belongs is descended from a very
old English family. His great-grandfather, a Methodist preacher, came to America
just before or immediately after the revolutionary war, and settled near
Baltimore. His great-grandfather and his grandfather, with three or four
brothers, about 1790 moved into what is now Garrett county, Maryland, and thence
across the line into Preston county, Virginia. His father, John McClure Mason,
son of John Mason, was born in Preston county, Virginia, near the present site
of Terra Alta, September 3, 1815. His grandmother, Sarah Mason, was of
Scotch-Irish descent, or perhaps more correctly speaking Protestant-Irish. Her
maiden name was Casey, daughter of Nicholas Casey, of Romney. Peter Casey, her
grandfather, moved to Moorefield, Virginia, from Philadelphia in 1736. Several
of the sons were revolutionary soldiers. Nicholas seems to have been the only
one of the sons who remained in that section after the war, and he settled at
Romney, where he lived for many years, and raised a large family of sons and
daughters, among whom was Sarah Casey, John W. Mason's grandmother. The name
Casey is extinct in that vicinity. All the sons moved to other states, but
several of the daughters of Nicholas Casey married in Hardy and Hampshire
counties, and among their descendants are the Parsons, Harnesses, Pancakes,
Bradys, and Inskips.

His mother's maiden name was Susan B. Hutchinson. She was descended from an old
English family. The Hutchinsons came to America many years before the
revolutionary war and settled in Loudoun, Fauquier, Fairfax, and Prince William
counties, Virginia. They were neighbors and loyal supporters of General
Washington. His mother was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, November 11, 1808,
near the village of Centerville. Her father, William Hutchinson, was a member of
the Virginia Militia at Washington, D. C., at the time of the surrender of that
city to the British army in 1814, and at the battle of North Point, near
Baltimore, a few days later. Here his grandfather Hutchinson .contracted a
fever, returned to his home near Fairfax Court House and died. His grandmother
married James Hutchinson, a relative of her first husband, and the family moved
to Preston county, then to Monongalia county about 1820, finally settling in
Monongalia county, at Little Falls, where the old people died after rearing a
large family. In an interview with Judge Mason he gave us in substance the
following biographical sketch:

"I was born on Joe's Run, in Monongalia county, Virginia, about three miles from
Smithtown, January 13, 1842. In the spring of 1846, my father moved into the
village, (Smithtown) and lived there, following his trade, that of a blacksmith
for about thirty-five years.

"I attended the neighborhood schools; clerked in my uncle's store (Jeremiah J.
Hutchinson, my mother's brother), taught subscription school in the fall and
winter of 1859-60. 1860-1. In August, 1861, I enlisted in the Union army for
three years and served until September 14, 1864, when I returned to my old home
and resumed my studies at the old Monongalia Academy at Morgantown. Most of my
army service was as sergeant in Battery 'F' First West Virginia, Light Artillery
(commonly known as Maulsby's Battery). Much of the time was spent in the Valley
of Virginia Campaigns. I remained at the Academy until it was merged into the
University, or as it was then known, The Agricultural College, in 1867, teaching
country schools and acting as tutor at the Academy to provide the money which
added to my small savings 1n the army paid my school expenses.

"The Academy was formally transferred to the state about March, 1867, and the
Board of Regents of the College took charge of the school and continued it
during the school year. I was employed in connection with Professor Stephen
Reppert to continue the school for the year, and I thus became one of the first
teachers of the college, and am entitled to rank as the oldest ex-professor. I
have always regarded this as a high honor. In the summer of 1865, I taught a
public school at Halleck. This was one of the first, if not indeed the first
public school taught in the county. Hon. Geo. C. Sturgiss, then County
Superintendent of Free Schools, gave me the certificate to teach. I felt that I
was deficient in Geography and asked to be excused from an examination on this
branch. The superintendent reminded me that the law required an examination, and
that he could not give me a Number One certificate without it. We compromised by
his issuing a Number Two. I still have the certificate and find this endorsement
on the back of it, 'I accepted a No. 2 certificate rather than be examined in
Geography.'

"In the summer of 1866, I taught the public school in Morgantown. This was
Morgantown's first public school. I read law in Judge J. M. Hagans' office while
teaching at Morgantown, during the year 1867, and was commissioned to practice
December 20, 1867, and admitted to the bar at the next term of the court of
Monongalia county.

"In February, 1868, I located at Grafton and practiced law there for twentyone
years. In March, 1889, I was appointed Commissioner of Internal Revenue by
President Harrison and held that office, residing at Washington, D. C., until
April, 1893. I then moved to Fairmont where I have since resided. In 1897 Judge
Hagans' health failed and I held court for him as Special Judge most of the time
until his death. July 1, 1900, I was appointed Judge to fill the vacancy created
by the death of Judge Hagans, and was elected at the November election 1900, for
the unexpired term. In 1904 I was elected judge for eight years without any
opposition, and my term will expire January 1, 1913, when I expect to retire
permanently to private life, resuming the practice of law, with my son, at
Fairmont.

"I was twice tendered appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court, and twice
practically offered Republican nominations for Governor at times when my
election seemed sure, but I very much preferred the position of Circuit Judge
among my home people.

"September 6, 1870, I was married to Rebecca E. Wallace at Morgantown. We have
one child living, a son, who is a graduate of the West Virginia University and
of Yale Law School.

"I am yet and have always been an ardent loyal Republican. Have voted twelve
times for Republican candidates for President, commencing with Lincoln in 1864.
In 1882, I was the Republican candidate for Congress in the Second Congressional
district and was defeated by William L. Wilson by ten majority, the normal
Democratic majority then being about 2,500. In 1888 I was the Republican
candidate for Supreme Judge. I was Chairman of the Republican State Committee
from 1872 to 1876 and was a member of the Republican National Committee for West
Virginia from 1876 to 1888.

"On the 16th day of July, 1808, President McKinley commissioned me a Major in
the U. S. Quarter Master Department, but I had no liking for Quartermaster
service and declined the commission."

A distinguished member of the bar who has been a life long friend of Judge Mason
says of him:

"His most important decisions are State vs. Gaughan declaring slot machines to
be gambling devices, 55 West Va. Reports. In this case the Supreme Court did him
the honor of adopting his opinion as the opinion of the Supreme Court. This is
the only time this was ever done by our Supreme Court. This decision put several
thousand of these gambling tables out of business. His decision in the case of
The South Penn Oil Co. vs. County Court of Monongalia County settled the
question of the right to tax oll and gas leases. No effort was ever made to
appeal the case. A series of cases decided by him, known as the King Land Cases,
the most important of which are reported in the 64th volume West Va. Reports,
has practically settled the laws of this state regarding forfeited and waste
lands. These are by all odds the most important cases ever decided in this
state. He spent about two years preparing this series of decisions. They were
approved by the Supreme Court of this state and by the U. S. Supreme Court.

"He early took advanced grounds in relation to naturalization, requiring
applicants to speak the English language, and produce satisfactory evidence of
bona fide citizenship, long before the present Act of Congress was passed
requiring these.

"He has always refused to grant divorces until it was satisfactorily proven that
there was a guilty and an innocent party.

"He has endeavored to restore in its purity Common Law Pleadings, except where
modified by statute. The result is that in his opinion this circuit has more
good Common Law pleaders than any other circuit in the state.

"He has always insisted upon the enforcement of laws against illegal sales of
intoxicating liquors, and violations of the election laws, and has been
reasonably successful whenever sustained by public sentiment, and he has had the
loyal support of the officers of the Court."

As a citizen Judge Mason is highly esteemed and respected for his probity, his
genial manners, free from ostentation and assumption of superiority. His
influence and counsel is always given for the moral and religious uplift of the
community where he has resided. As a jurist he has brought to the performance of
his duties a sincere desire to ascertain the facts in every case before him and
then to apply the law to the case in hand without fear, favor or regard to
private interests, and consequently both client and counsel feel assured that
whether rulings or decisions be favorable or adverse to them, he has given their
cases careful consideration and the result is the best judgment of an honest,
able and impartial judge As a churchman he has given of his time and money to
advance the cause of Christianity, and while loyal to his own church
(Presbyterian) he is dominated by a broad catholicity of spirit that enables him
to cooperate with Christian workers of all other churches.

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(2) The following is from: Bench and Bar of West Virginia 
by George Wesley Atkinson
Virginia Law Book Company; Charleston, W.Va.; 1919
Pages 82-84, Judge John W. Mason

The subject of this sketch will doubtless ever be known and remembered as one of
the rugged and able lawyers and jurists of West Virginia. He was born on a farm
in Monongalia County, Virginia, January 13, 1842, and departed this life in the
adjoining county of Marion, April 23, 1917. Although his opportunities for
schooling were somewhat meager, he was far from being uneducated. He attended
the public schools of his neighborhood for a number of years, and later
graduated from the Monongalia Academy at Morgantown, which subsequently became
the foundation of the West Virginia University, in which, for a short time, he
was a teacher. Being an earnest seeker for an education, he acquired, by the
careful and systematic reading of good books, a varied and substantial learning,
and thus became master of a clear, terse and vigorous style, both in writing and
in speaking.

He early decided upon the law as a profession, and began the reading of legal
text books. However the Civil War came on, and at the age of seventeen he
entered the military service of the United States as a private soldier, and
after attaining the rank of a non-commissioned officer, and had engaged in a
number of hotly contested battles, he returned to his native county, and took up
the study of the law, which he earnestly pursued by reading the required text
books, until he was able to pass the necessary examination as a licensed
attorney in 1867. He often stated that his four years of army experience was
most helpful to him in after years. He was a Republican, and for a time was
quite active in the politics of the State and Nation, although he was never an
office seeker. He was once nominated for a seat in Congress, and was only
defeated by ten votes. He was four years Chairman of the Republican State
Executive Committee, and for twelve years he was a member of the National
Executive Committee of that party. He was not only a good organizer, but ranked
high as a platform speaker during political campaigns. But at no time did he
allow politics to interfere with his large and ever increasing law practice, and
repeatedly refused to accept nominations for Governor, Supreme Court Judge and
Federal appointments. In 1889, he, however, accepted the position of
Commissioner of Internal Revenue at Washington, D. C., which was tendered to him
by President Harrison, and he filled that great office in a most acceptable
manner for four years.

For thirteen years he served as Circuit Court Judge of the Fourteenth Circuit,
and it was universally conceded that he was one of the foremost judges in
ability and acceptability in the entire State. Shortly after his voluntary
retirement from the Bench he was made a member of the Virginia State Debt
Commission, in which capacity he rendered invaluable service to the State. In
the summer of 1915 a vacancy occurred on the Supreme Court of the State, and
Judge Mason was appointed to that important office November 1st of that year to
fill said vacancy, and until January 1, 1917, he made the same high record as an
Appellate Court Justice that he maintained as a nisi prius judge. After leaving
the Supreme Court Bench he retired to private life in his splendid home in the
city of Fairmont.

Judge Mason was happily married to Miss Rebecca E. Wallace, of Morgantown, in
1870, to them only one son was born, John William Mason, Jr., who is a young
lawyer of great promise at Fairmont, and who, like his father, offered his
services as a volunteer in defense of his country, and is now at the front in
the terrible war now prevailing in Europe.

Judge Mason was a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church for many years prior
to his death. He was also a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and he is
remembered as an able lawyer, a just judge, a true and faithful husband and
father, and a man whose life and character was enriched with noble qualities of
head and heart.


Additional Comments:
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VITAL RECORDS
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Death Certificate, Marion County WV, #7215
Full-name: John W. Mason
Date-of-death: Apr. 23, 1917 at age 75y-3m-10d
Date-of-birth: Jan. 13, 1842 in Monongahela [sic]
Son-of: John Mason & Rebecca Hutchison (both born in Virginia)
Marital-status: married
Occupation: Lawyer
Burial-place: Morgantown, WV

Birth Register, Taylor County WV 1871, page 87, line 183
Mason (infant male), born Jan 28, 1871
son of: J. W. & R. E. Mason 
Father's occup: Lawyer

Death Register, Taylor County WV 1881, page 17, line 110
Clyde T. Mason died Feb 22, 1881
Cause-of-death: Scarlet Fever
son of: John W. & Rebecca

Birth - Taylor County WV 1885
John W. Mason, Jr. was born April 9, 1885 in Grafton, Taylor Co.
son of: John William Mason and Rebecca Elisa Wallace

Death-Certificate, Harrison County WV #4291
Name: John William Mason Jr.
Date-of-Death: April 17, 1956 in Clarksburg VA Hospital
Usual-Residence: 519 Prospect Ave., Fairmont, Marion County
Date-of-Birth: April 9, 1885
Occupation: Mgr. Travel Agency
Son-of: John W. Mason and Rebecca Wallace
Burial: Oak Grove Cemetery, Morgantown, Monongalia County WV

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US FEDERAL CENSUS
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1880 Census, Taylor County WV
ED:81, the Town of Grafton, hw-page no. 37
Lines 23-26; Enum-Dwelling #343; Enum-Family #361
MASON, John W (age 38), Lawyer, VA-VA-VA
", Rebecca E (age 37), wife, Keeping-House, PA-PA-PA
", Clyde T (age 2), son, WV-VA-PA
CARRIGAN, Maggie (age 22), servant, VA-IRE-IRE

1900 Census, Marion County WV
ED:51, Union District, Fairmont Ward 1, Sheet 13B
Haymond Street; Lines 94-97; Enum-Dwelling #250; Enum-Family #270
MASON, John W (head), Jan-1842, age-58, mar-30yrs, WV-WV-VA
", Rebecca E (wife), Dec-1842, age-57, 4-children/1-living, PA-unknown-NY
", John W Jr (son), Apr-1885, age-15, WV-WV-PA, attends school
TRADER, Katie (servant), July-1876, age-23, WV-WV-WV

1910 Census, Marion County WV
ED:58, Fairmont City, 1st District, Sheet 14B
Lines 52-57; Enum-Dwelling #268; Enum-Family #314
MASON, John W (head), 68, mar-35-yrs, WV-WV-Va, Judge, Circuit Court
", Rebecca E (wife), 67, 3-children/1-living, PA-US-NY
", John W Jr (son), 25, WV-WV-Pa
", Bess (niece), 26, WV-WV-WV
FAIRCHILDS, S. J. (Sister-in-law), 80, OH-US-NY


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