Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-09

liver FRONT OF GUNSTON HALL r
and wrote the story of the ruins and
graves of Belvoir in 1905. The second
George Mason also bought from Sher-
wood two hundred acres of land near
little Hunting creek. which at
later time became part of the
Mount Vernon plantation. 1t is re-
corded that Mason, in 1904, bought a
the village of Occoquan stands with
in the limits of that purchase. In
partnership with James Hereford.
Mason bought 2,224 acres of land in
1714 and the records seem to show
that the old village of Accotink stands
| on this land.
X X X X
If the Rambler is reading his notes
clearly 1t was George Mason. son of
the immigrant, who married Mary
Fowke of Charles county, Md She
was daughter of Gerard Fowke, the
second, son of Gerard Fowke, the
immigrant. Mary died and Col Ma
son then married Elizabeth Waugh,
daughter of the Rev. John Waugh. 1t
is said that Col Mason married again,
but those who have traced the Mason
genealogy seem not to have learned
There were children by these mar
| riages and these children married into
the Fftzhugh, Dinwiddie. Bronaugh
! and Mercer families. One son of
George Mason, the second, and Mary
Fowke was George Mason, third. He
was married in 1921 to Anne Thomp-
son. daughter of Stevens Thompson,
attorney general of Virginia.
This third George Mason had some
| a
justice of the peace in Stafford county
and became sheriff of that county. He
was one of the party which, in 1916,
accompanied Alexander SpotsWood on
| his trip Of exploration across the Blue
Ridge, a trip which resulted in the
! institution by Spotswood of the order
of the Golden Horseshoe. Mason be-
| came -chief of the mill
tia OF Stafford county and was menu
Der of the house of burgesses.
He removed in 1927 to a farm on
! Chickamuxon creek. Maryland, OPP
posite Quantico. and in 1875 was
drowned by the capsizing of a sail
fore removing to Maryland he had
lived in a house which stood on the
south side Of Occoquan creek, near the
landing of the Colchester Occoquan
ferry. That ferry was called Mason's
ferry, but as George Mason, Sd. was
owned this ferry unless it were a
"private" ferry, which. perhaps, was
the case. The first reference to a
public ferry over Occoquan creek is
in a statute of 1895.
| MaSon'S ferry continued in opera
ton until the building of a wooden
toll bridge, which was called Mason's
bridge. and the bridge itself gave
the name woodbridge" to a town
and station at that point on the
| hi sa1r h,,r ras1
road. The ferry and toll bridge were
just downstream from the present
railroad bridge. and the station name
of woodbridge" has recently been
changed to Occoquan. The first toll
bridge was authorized by the Virginia
legislature January 2. 1898. and the
! act recites that lit shall be lawful for
Thomas Mason and his heirs and as
signs to demand and receive the fol-
lowing tolls and rates of passage for
any person or thing over his bridge
across OccoQuan river. opposite to the
town of Colchester" and then follows
the rates of toll that might be law
fully charged.
You noted above that the Rambler
said that George Mason had been
drowned by the capsiZing of a sailboat
while crossing the river, and that he
! had removed to farm on Chicka-
i muxen creek. opposite Quantico. He
! was probably operating ferry at the
! Time OF MS uedtH JOT the StCOHu puD-
7! lie ferry over the Potomac river which
| the Rambler has found in the Virginia
statutes is one that was authorized in
/ 1892 to "cross from point lust below
| the mouth of Ouantico creek over the
river to the landine place ct Col.
! George Mason's in MARYLAND" The
width of the river there is mile and
a half. The Rambler has written
| that he was J probably operating
ferry at the time of his death.
| will take that back. 1t does not seem
probable that a man owning az much
pronertv and presumably as well-to-do
as Col. Mason was actually sailing the
! ferry boat He no doubt owned the
| ferry boat the ferry landings and the
franchise for conducting the ferry. and
was crossing with the actual ferryman
when the tragedy occurred.
! IT has been said that this George
Mason. the third. patented tract
of land opposite GEORGETOWN. on
which the town of Rosslyn stands
and also obtained a patent from Lord
BALTIMORE to Analostan island" That
! island appears in the old records As
Necostin Island. Barbados. My Lords
! Island and Mason's Island. George
Mason became the owner of the
island and it nassed to his descend
tants. but the Rambler will not set it
| down on his own responsibility that
/ Mason was the patentee OF this island
! because he has not seen the original
| grant. IT is the habit of manv
writers to set forth that an early
purchaser was the Original pat
/ entee" The Rambler has read and
| he thinks it was in Kate Ma son Row.
! lands excellent hook that Gin 1893
: ferry was established below Ana
lostan Island by Peter Aubrey. owner
of tho land on the Virginia shore"
and that Gin 174s Mason bought this
! ferry and ran it from his land above
Analostan Island to the MARYLAND
| shore" where Georgetown now stands
If George Mason, Sd. was drowned
in 1735 he could not have bought
| this ferry in 174S. II it was bought
! in that year it must have been nv
his son. who was George Mason. 4th.
| of Gunston Hall. Aubrey may have
operated ferry below Analostan
Island in 1898. hut the Rambler has
] not found reference TO it in Hen
| ing's statutes. The Rambler finds
| the first reference in the Virginia ,
statutes to ferry near where the
Auueductc bridge stands. in an act
pa ssed in 174a It authorizes the es-
| tablishment of rublic ferry from
the plantation of George Mason. Oh
posite to Rock creek. over to Mary |
land
OF course r,en onerated ferries be- !
fore the Virginia legislature UNDER
| took to authorize and regulate them.
Tt was probabR because OF the high
tolls Of those private ferries that the