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Armistead Thomson Mason

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Armistead Mason
United States Senator
from Virginia
In office
January 3, 1816 – March 4, 1817
Preceded byWilliam Giles
Succeeded byJohn Eppes
Personal details
Born
Armistead Thomson Mason

(1787-08-04)August 4, 1787
Armisteads, Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 6, 1819(1819-02-06) (aged 31)
Bladensburg, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseCharlotte Taylor
Children1
RelativesStevens Mason (father)
EducationCollege of William and Mary (BA)

Armistead Thomson Mason (August 4, 1787 – February 6, 1819)[1][2] was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817. Mason was also the second-youngest person to ever serve in the US Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 months, even though the age requirement for the US Senate in the constitution is 30 years old.[3] He was the son of Stevens Thomson Mason.[1][2]

Early life and education

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He was born at Armisteads in Louisa County, Virginia, graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1807 and engaged in agricultural pursuits until he became colonel of Virginia Volunteers in the War of 1812 and subsequently brigadier general of Virginia Militia.

Political career

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He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Branch Giles, despite being constitutionally underage for the office. Mason served from January 3, 1816, to March 4, 1817. He then moved to Loudoun County, Virginia where he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Fifteenth Congress (1817). It was a bitter campaign that gave rise to several duels: Mason himself was later killed in a duel with his second cousin, John Mason McCarty, at Bladensburg Duelling Field, Maryland, as a result of this campaign. He is buried in the churchyard of the Episcopal Church at Leesburg, Virginia.[1][2]

Marriage and children

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Mason married on 1 May 1817 to Charlotte Eliza Taylor (died 1846) at Dr. Charles Cocke's in Albemarle County, Virginia.[1][2] The couple had one son:[1][2]

  • Stevens Thomson Mason (1819–14 June 1847)[1]

Relations

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Armistead Thomson Mason was the grandnephew of George Mason (1725–1792);[1][2] grandson of Thomson Mason (1733–1785);[1][2] son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Armistead Mason (1760–1825) and Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803);[1][2] nephew of John Thomson Mason (1765–1824);[1][2] second cousin of Thomson Francis Mason (1785–1838) and James Murray Mason (1798–1871);[1][2] brother-in-law of William Taylor Barry (1784–1835); brother of John Thomson Mason (1787–1850);[1][2] uncle of Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843);[1][2] and first cousin of John Thomson Mason, Jr. (1815–1873).[1][2]

Ancestry

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References

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  • United States Congress. "Armistead Thomson Mason (id: M000213)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Armistead Thomson Mason". Gunston Hall. Archived from the original on 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mason family of Virginia". The Political Graveyard. June 16, 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  3. ^ "Youngest Senator". United States Senate.
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U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Virginia
1816–1817
Served alongside: James Barbour 		Succeeded by
New office Chair of the Senate District of Columbia Committee
1816–1817 		Succeeded by
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