THOMAS MASON

You may be asking by this time how many generations we are going to go back. We will go as far as the leads take us and even then a few years down the line we may find something else. When I first started collecting information 40 years ago it was ALL done by snail mail and going to libraries to search microfilm and books. You had no way of knowing if there were any other folks researching what you are. Things could not be more different now. Thanks to the computer there is information all over the place if you will search for it. Through Family Tree Maker, Ancestry and Family Search there are all kinds of leads and ways to connect with others researching the same names. Recently DNA has really opened things up. (I'm actually linked through 47 individuals to DNA with Thomas and I'm certain it would be a lot more if more folks utilized DNA results.) It gives you real satisfaction to be following names down the path and have the confirmation that others with your DNA are going in the same direction. Our forefathers with the same DNA are pointing the direction.

Soooo we started with Papa to many of us....Lemmie Sylvanis Mason, (do you remember where he got his names?), his father was Marion Francis Mason (where did Francis come?), Marion's father was Sylvanus (went by Vane) which he got from his father Sylvanus. Now DNA and leads are pointing us to................

THOMAS MASON

Thomas Mason was born in 1780 in Hyde County, North Carolina to James and Charity (Swindell) Mason. Sadly it appears he died the same year his son Sylvanus was born 1814. We have record of Thomas marrying Mary....outside of that fact was only Thomas birth year.

We see Thomas in the 1810 census. Remember the 1810 census primarily lists how many free white people are in the family and grouped by ages. They lived in Hyde County, North Carolina. We find 5 children under 16 with mother and father-7 in all.

Then there is a record in the War of 1812 Service Records with company: 2 Reg't (Tisdale's) North Carolina Mil. Thomas was a private. What was the war of 1812 you may ask. I had to look it up. In the War of 1812, the United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in a conflict that would have an immense impact on the young country’s future. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory. The United States suffered many costly defeats at the hands of British, Canadian and Native American troops over the course of the War of 1812, including the capture and burning of the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., in August 1814. Nonetheless, American troops were able to repulse British invasions in New York, Baltimore and New Orleans, boosting national confidence and fostering a new spirit of patriotism. The ratification of the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 1815, ended the war but left many of the most contentious questions unresolved. Nonetheless, many in the United States celebrated the War of 1812 as a “second war of independence,” beginning an era of partisan agreement and national pride. https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/war-of-1812

Does that mean he died in the war while his wife was home with four other children and gave birth to Sylvanus? We don't know but he did die the year Sylvanus was born. He was only 34 years old.

I did find a probate for his will stating he died in 1814 and he had 50 acres in Hyde County, North Carolina that was divided among the children. Of course Sylvanus was a baby and it appears lived in another state as well as his sister Desea. Their portion of the land was to be set apart for them.