Mason, Stevens Thomson

Mason, Stevens Thomson

(1760–1803) U.S. senator; born in Stafford County, Va. (nephew of George Mason). An aide to Gen. Washington, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Virginia (Dem.-Rep., 1794–1803). He won fame for publicizing the secret contents of the Jay Treaty.

Mason, Stevens Thomson

(1811–43) governor; born in Loudoun County, Va. At age 19 he took over for his father as secretary of the Michigan Territory (1831–36); he led the statehood movement, winning the Upper Peninsula in a boundary dispute. As first governor of Michigan (Dem., 1837–40), he lost popular support when he failed to renegotiate state bonds during the banking crisis of 1837.