Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-25

the death of his father he lived with his
mother, Ann Thomson Mason at the Thorn
son home at Chappawamsic, and with John
Mercer, an uncle to whom Mrs. Mason had
leased the Occoquan home In 1850 he was
married to Ann Eilbeck, daughter of Col.
William Eilbeck of Mattawoman. Charles
county, Md. Mr. Eilbeck had settled in
Maryland from Cumberland, England and
had married Miss Edgar of Charles coun-
ty. The marriage of George Mason and
Ann Eilbeck was celebrated by the Rev.
John MoncuTe, rector of Overwharton par
ish, Stafford county. About 100 Mason be-
gan the building of the house "Gunston,"
which he named in memory of his Fowke
ancestry.
One of the first enterprises to engage the
activities of Mason was the Ohio Company
for the colonization of Virginia's western
lands and for trade with the Indians. Other
Nlrsinians interested in this company were
Thomas Lee Lawrence Washington, John
Mercer, George Mercer and Gov. Dinwidde
1t was in the service of this company that
George Washington made his first trip into
the Ohio country.
While Mason dwelt at Gunston Hall he
had among his neiehbors the following per-
sons of prominence in the old chronicles
Raleigh Travers of the great Raleigh fam
lily. who married a half-sister to Mary Ball /;
Col. Peter Daniel of Crows Nest, John Mer-
Ger of Marlboro, Va; the Hedgemans
Mountjoys, Col. Thomas Ludwen Lee Of
Berry Hill and Bellevue, Daniel Carroll
Brent of Richland, the Ftzhughs of Bosco-
bel and Belle Air, the Seldens Of SaIvng-
ton, the Waughs of Belle PLANE, Richard
Henry Lee of Chantilly, William Fitzhugh
of Ravensworth. John Augustine Washing
ton of Bushfeld, Richard Stuart of Cedar
Grove, Henry Fitzhugh of Bedford, the Chi
Of Col
Rippon Lodge the Fairfaxes of Belvoir and
the Washingtons of Mount Vernon. Another
neighbor was Martin Cockburn, an uncle of
Admiral Cockburn, who was associated with
Gen. Ross in the capture of Washington.
Gen. John Mason, son of George Mason
writing of the life and times of his father
presents the following account Of domestic
conditions at Gunston:
My father had among his slaves carmen
tiers. coopers, sawyers, blacksmiths, tan
ners, shoemakers, spinners, weavers, knit
ters and a distiller. His woods furnished
timber and plank for the carpenters and
coopers, and charcoal for the blacksmiths;
his cattle, killed for his own consumption
and for sale, furnished skins for his tan
ners and shoemakers, and his sheep gave
wool and the fields fax for the weavers and
spinners and the orchards fruit for the dis
tiller. His carpenters and Sawyers built
and kept in repair all the dwelling houses,
barns, stables, fences and gates on the
plantation and the outhouses at the home
house. His coopers made the hogsheads
his tobacco was priced in and the tight
casks that held the cider and other IL
quors. The tanners and curriers', with the
proper watts, etc, tanned and dressed the
skins well for upper for lower leather
to the full amount of the consumption of
the estate. The shoemakers made them
into shoes for the negroes. A professed
shoemaker was hired for three or four
months in the year to come and make up
shoes for the white part of the family. The
bla cksmths did all the iron work required
by the establishment. The spinners and
weavers and knitterS made all the coarse
cloths and stockings used by the negroes
and some of finer texture worn by the white
family. The distiller made every fall a good
deal of apple, peach and persimmon brandy.
The art of distilling from grain was not
then among us, and there were but few pub
lie distilleries All these operations were
carried on at the home house and the prod