Mason, John
Mason, John,
1586–1635, founder of New HampshireNew Hampshire,one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut River forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E).
..... Click the link for more information. , b. England. After serving (1615–21) as governor of Newfoundland, he and Sir Ferdinando GorgesGorges, Sir Ferdinando
, c.1566–1647, English colonizer, proprietor of Maine. He was knighted (1591) for his services to Henry IV of France in the French Wars of Religion and was subsequently (1596–1601, 1603–29) military governor of Plymouth, England.
..... Click the link for more information. received (1622) a patent from the Council for New England for all the territory lying between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers. In 1629 they divided the grant, Mason taking as his share an area 60 mi (95 km) deep between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers, which he named New Hampshire. This grant was confirmed to him when the Council for New England surrendered its charter in 1635. Attempts by his heirs to make good their claims to this land led to long litigation. The inhabitants were finally compelled to recognize the Mason rights, which were sold (1746) by one of Mason's descendants to a group of 12 Portsmouth men, who became known as the Masonian Proprietors. They issued settlement permits and land titles in the undeveloped parts of Mason's grant. The grant was redefined by the state in 1788.
Bibliography
See J. W. Dean, ed., Captain John Mason (1887, repr. 1972).
Mason, John,
c.1600–1672, American colonial military commander, b. England. He was an army officer before emigrating (c.1630) to Massachusetts and then (1635) to Windsor, Conn. When the PequotPequot, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Pequot are of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American).
..... Click the link for more information. threatened to wipe out the new colonies on the Connecticut River, he and John UnderhillUnderhill, John,
c.1597–1672, military commander in the American colonies, b. England. In 1630 he accompanied John Winthrop (1588–1649) to Massachusetts Bay, and in 1637 he distinguished himself as a commander with John Mason (c.
..... Click the link for more information. led an expedition (1637) against them with the aid of other Native Americans under UncasUncas
, c.1588–c.1683, chief of the Mohegan. Uncas was a subchief of the Pequot, but because of trouble with the chief, Sassacus, he withdrew with his followers and formed a separate tribe, the Mohegan. These people flourished under Uncas's leadership.
..... Click the link for more information. and MiantonomoMiantonomo
, d. 1643, chief of the Narragansett; nephew of another chief, Canonicus. In 1637 he aided the English colonists in the Pequot War. The following year he was induced to make a treaty of peace with the English and with his ancient enemy, Uncas.
..... Click the link for more information. and virtually destroyed the tribe. After this campaign—generally called the Pequot War—Major Mason was a distinguished political leader in Connecticut until his death.
Bibliography
See his narrative of the Pequot War in A Brief History of the Pequot War (1736, repr. 1971); biography by L. B. Mason (1935).
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Mason, John
(c. 1600–72) soldier, public official; born in England. He emigrated to Massachusetts around 1633. Commanding militia, Mason broke the power of the Pequot Indian tribe in 1637 with an attack on an encampment at Mystic, Conn., in which more than 600 Pequots, including women and children, were slaughtered. He later served as a magistrate and as deputy governor of Connecticut.The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.