The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-06-01
THE LATE REV. A. W. MASON.
BY REV. W. S. RALPH.


The brief notice in THE UNIvERsALIsT
of May 6, of the death of REV. ALMOND
WooD Mason, at the home of his daugh-
ter in Minneapolis has prepared the
readers of this paper for this more ex-
tended account of his life and character.
1t will be source of deep regret to
his friends, who knew the kindly, genial,
loving pastor and friend. that the sketch
we shall be able to give of Father Ma
son." as he was familiarly called by al
most every body, even at fifty. must be
SO inadequate, owing to the meagerness
of the recorded data, and to the frailty
of human memory. Nothing is at the
moment available save the recollections
OF his children, the writer's own men,
ories, which relate mainly to period now
many years behind him, and brief
sketch of three or four precious pages.
in his own handwriting, of his early
days, and of his first leanings toward
the faith which he afterwards so warm
ly en- mbraced and 80 faithfully and power
fully taught for nearly half century.
He was peculiarly bent on leaving no
records OF his life. and after the death of
his wife, to the great grief of his family.
destroyed all such diaries. kept daily
through scores of years, as held events
recorded of his ministry; and afterward
avoided answering, if possible, questions
by his children as to dates and facts.
However, in the fragment mentioned
he tell us he was born, "high up on the
West Mountain" of Cheshire, Berk-
shire Co., Mass. Sunday morning the
9TH of April, 1907. His father and moth
er we're both Masons, though unrelated;
the one large hearted, open, social; the
other deeply religious, with a great
fondness for music. and taught her
young son to read the notes" from her
fingers held horizontally to represent the
musical staff, lines and spaces. From
her he inherited his thoughtful, relig-
ious nature. and love of music, life
long characteristic.
His early education was in the district
school, mile and quarter away from
homo, "over rocky, bleak and windy
pa ssage," which in after life he wond
cred how he ever endured as child
Though reared on a farm, and early
trained to it's labors, he could not en-
dure them like other lads of the neigh
borhood; nor could he attend school,
save few days in succession, without
resulting sickness. Right we'll does
the writer remember how amused he
was as boy. on drawing mental con-
trast between his tall. erect. ruddy and
portly form as he then beheld it, when
he described himself at this youthful
period as TALL thin, stoop, shouldered,
p lie and weak. He was an apt scholar
in language and mathematics, and very
early mastered everything available in
those lines. At sixteen he was teaching
istrict school and singing school. and
entered soon the junior class of Williams
College, conditioned only in Greek and
Latin. The intense application indulged
to meet these conditions resulted
quickly in forcing him to leave school.
aud enter a milling store as clerk and
bookkeeper. Interesting himself in the
mill machinery, he purchased his time,
until his majority of his parents. paying
honorably and satisfactorily therefor
ar d in due time became thorough mas
er of the art of cotton manufacturing in
all its processes. This he followed as su-
perintendent in mills, and manufacturer
on his own account until he entered the
ministry, except when broken health
sent him on a whaling voyage which
terminated in eighteen months by rea
son of great success. On this voyage he
had Asiatic cholera. and was left to die
but. as he used to declare. the thought of
being buried in the sea caused such a
shock as made him rally, which elic
tied from the captain of the vessel, who
came, as he supposed, to look on the
dead body, a wonderful flow of amazed
profanity.
Very early he became deeply i'm
pressed with religion. He was born
into close communion Baptist family
and at 16 was moved to make public
profession by baptism, and was accord
ingly immersed by the celebrated and
somewhat eccentric Rev. John Leland.