LOCATION
AND SHORT EARLY
HISTORY
Mason, NH
is located on the southern border of Hillsborough County and bordered
on the north by Temple and Wilton, on the east by Brookline, the west
by New Ipswich and on the south by Townsend and Ashby, MA.
A good part of NH
was originally owned by Captain John Mason (died 1635), an English
nobleman who never set foot in New England. The land upon which Mason
now exists was surveyed and laid out into townships in 1749 by John
Mason's great great grandson. Mason, NH, then called "Township No.
One" was born on October 16th, 1749, in Dunstable, at the house of
Captain Joseph French where lots were drawn by twelve gentlemen and
others who had been invited to join in the venture. The terms of the
grants were that they were to erect mills, meeting houses, clear
roads, and settle ministers within a specific time. The township was
five miles square, a symmetrical parcel of hills, valleys, and virgin
forests with one large pond.
The original
Proprietors chose a location at the geographical center, for the
center of town. The First Meeting House was built there and so the
Second as well as the Pound, the Parade Ground, two Noon Houses,
Number One School House and later the Hearse House. The first roads,
north-south and east-west ran right through the Town Center. Only a
few of the original Proprietors actually settled in Number One. The
others gave their lots to their sons or nephews or sold them. Most
had little more than his two hands and an axe with which to clear the
land, build his house and clear his fields. Finally, in 1768 they
incorporated into a town called Mason.
Map
to Mason, NH
MASON
BIOGRAPHIES
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Samuel
Wilson or "Uncle Sam"
(1766-1854) grew up in Mason and the house in which he lived
still stands on Valley Road in Mason. He became famous for
his meat packing company in Troy, NY which supplied meat to
the army during the War of 1812. He stamped his barrels with
"US" for United States, but people began to say "That's
Uncle Sam!" (In those days the term "Uncle" was a term of
endearment.) After making his fortune in Troy, he returned
to Mason where he married his childhood sweetheart,
Elizabeth "Betsey" Mann. Her father, Capt. Benjamin Mann led
26 men from Mason to the Battle of Bunker Hill.
You can check out Samuel Wilson's genealogy at
Uncle
Sam's Home.
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NEW!
The Mason Historical Society has reprinted from the Mason
Bicentennial 1768-1968 a 12 page pamphlet entitled
"The
Story of Uncle Sam" by
Elizabeth Orton Jones. Available by mail for $5.00. This
includes the postage.
This booklet may be ordered from the Mason Historical
Society, 16 Darling Hill Road, Mason, NH 03048. Make checks
payable to the Mason Historical Society.
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Click below for biographies /
genealogies of the following Mason
Residents:
I have added three
pages of testimony
on behalf of Nathaniel Barrett, Jr. from his Revolutionary Pension
Papers file.
It is fascinating reading and a wonderful window into life in Mason
and soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Great reading !
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RESOURCES
FOR MASON RESEARCH
Go to this page for a list of books, microfilm, and libraries with
references to Mason.
MASON
TAX ROLLS AND OLD
DOCUMENTS
Check this page out to view a
list of the original Mason Tax Roll in 1769, a photo of Dr. William
Barber's original Doctor's Journal, and more to come.
MASON
SCHOOLS
Check out these pages to learn
more about schools in Mason.
You will find some actual 1874 student lists here as well as a
description of the various schools.
MASON
SCHOOL CLASS PHOTOS
Check out this page to see school
class photos from Mason schools.
If you have a school photo from a Mason school send me a
copy!
MASON
MILITARY RECORDS
Lists of Mason soldiers will be found on this page.
MASON
VITAL RECORDS
This page lists Mason residents in the vital records of other
towns.
CEMETERIES
Go to the Cemetery
Photo Page for locations,
descriptions and some photos from Mason's cemeteries
Go to the Mason
Cemetery Inscriptions
Page to read a list of the
inscriptions from of some the stones.
PRATT CEMETERY BURIAL
RECORDS!!! My thanks to David
Fox who submitted these records.
PRATT CEMETERY ANNEX
RECORDS. Again, thanks to
David Fox!
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RESOURCES
LOCATED IN
MASON
Town Clerk
& Tax Collector
The Mann House, 16
Darling Hill Road, Mason, NH 03048-9600
Town Clerk/Tax Collector:
Tues 1- 4 p.m.; Wednesday 6:30 - 8 p.m. ; Thurs 9 - 12 p.m.
and last Saturday of the month: 10 a.m. - 12 noon
Selectmen's
Office
Mason Board of Selectmen, Christopher Guiry, Chairman
Hours: Tuesday -Thursday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Phone: (603) 878-2070 ...... FAX 603-878-4892
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MASON HISTORICAL
SOCIETY:
contact
the MHS c/o Selectmen's Office, 16 Darling Hill Road, Mason, NH
03048-9600
The historical society is in the process of collecting historical
documents, and unpacking newly found documents. They have a very nice
room above the Selectmen's Office. Some of the documents I have found
there are: old school records, printed Town Reports, Dr. William
Barber's original journal from the early 1800s, and much more. If you
are going to visit, be sure and call ahead for an appointment with
these delightful and helpful people. Generally, they are available
Wednesday afternoons. Contact Charles Moser, President or Linda
O'Grady, Vice-President.
The Mason Historical Society will do genealogical searches of their
files at the following rates: free for first 15 minutes and $20 fee
for the next hour. Copies are .25¢ per page.
UNCLE SAM BOOK AVAILABLE
"Who was Uncle Sam?" Illustrated story of the Life of our National
Symbol by Cecile & Jean-Pierre Mouraux. Available at the Uncle
Sam Museum in Mason for $20. Make checks out to the Mason Historical
Society, c/o Uncle Sam, 16 Darling Hill Rd., Mason, NH 03048. This is
a soft cover book with beautiful photographs and illustrations. A
percentage of the proceeds go to the Mason Historical Society for
next year's town celebration. Mason will celebrate its 240th year of
Incorporation in the summer of 2008.
Memorial for Elizabeth Orton
Jones (Twig)
The Mason
Historical Society is looking for donations to build a memorial built
in "Twig's" honor (Elizibeth Orton Jones). They are looking for
donations to build this statue of the African American slave, "Bode"
that she so tenderly described as the "first inhabitant of Mason, NH.
Anyone interested in donating to the "Bode fund" can send a check to
Mason Historical Society, c/o Bode Fund" 16 Darling Hill Rd., Mason,
NH. 03048
MASON BICENTENNIAL
BOOK
The Mason
Bicentennial book (hardcover) is still available to those who are
interested in the history of Mason, NH. Books may be purchased for $
35.00. Checks made out to the Mason Historical Society. Send the
checks to Darling Hill Rd. Mason NH. c/o Barbara
Milkovits.
MASON PUBLIC
LIBRARY:
Mason has
a small library in the Mann House. They have a collection of over
10,500 cataloged books and paperbacks, 350 videos and 200 audio
materials. There is a Public Access Computer with internet access and
a printer. The staff has access to other programs to obtain articles
and books and other materials from other libraries in the state via
Inter Library Loans. Library director: Susanne Wolpert
Hours: Tues 1 - 8 pm; 7-9 Wed 9 - 5; Thurs. 10 - 8; Sat 1 - 4
FAX 603-878-6146 .... Phone: 603-878-3867 .... email:
masonlib@direcway.com
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MASON
PHOTO ALBUM PAGE
Click on this link to view
photos of Mason.
Do you have photos of Mason you can
add to this page?
MASON
RESEARCHERS ROLL
CALL
Click on this link to view
others researching Mason ancestors.
Submit your own Mason SURNAMES to this page.
example 1: "ELIOT family, 1750's -
1850's" John Doe JD@abc.com
example 2: "Oliver ELIOT, 1750 - 1794" John Doe JD@abc.com
Submit your surnames.
Put "MASON SURNAMES" in subject please!
I reserve the right to edit as necessary before placing anything on
this site.
Please do not ask people to do research for you.
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OTHER LINKS
OF INTEREST
Check out
this page for a list of links useful to Mason and New England
researchers.
Only a Genealogist regards
a step backwards, as
progress.
This page is sponsored by Rhett
Owings. If you have comments, corrections, additions, or questions
please send me an email.
Put "Mason Webpage" in the subject line, please.
Resources for
Mason Research || Mason
Biographies || Mason's
Soldiers
Map to Mason
|| Mason's
Photo Album Page || Vital
Records || Old
Records & Documents
Schools
|| Cemeteries
|| Cemetery
Photos || Cemetery
Inscriptions
Mason
Researcher's Roll Call ||
Links
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Hillsborough County GenWeb
Site:
http://home.att.net/~family-history/NH-Hillsborough_Co.htm
Ann Mensch, coordinator, email her at:
<Local_History@worldnet.att.net>
Hillsborough Co. Queries
page:
http://home.att.net/~mensch-family/Hillsboroqueries.htm
You are visitor number 
since 1 April 1999
Updated September 2007
Copyright 2007
