Fifth Generation (Continued)
Family of Moses Mason (74) & Lydia Knapp

214. Martha Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Newton, Mass., on 28 May 1751. Died Bethel, Maine, on 8 Jul 1839. Residence: Bethel, Maine. Data from Mason.

She married Eleazer Twitchell, son of Joseph Twitchell & Deborah Fairbanks, on 4 Apr 1768 in Bethel, Maine. Born Bethel, Maine, on 22 Jan 1744. Data from Mason.

Eleazer Twitchell was one of the early settlers at Bethel and owned the land where the village of Bethel Hill now is and gave to the town the Common.

They had the following children:
445 i.  Simeon (1770-)
446 ii.  Deborah (1772-~1802)
447 iii.  Martha (1774-)
448 iv.  Amos (1776-)
v.  Moses. Born Bethel, Maine, on 6 Mar 1779. Data from Mason.
Went West.

He married ---- Harris. Data from Mason.
449 vi.  Joseph (1782-)
450 vii.  Lydia (1784-)
451 viii.  Eleazer (1786-)
ix.  Sylvanus. Born Bethel, Maine, on 2 May 1789. Died on 6 Oct 1789. Data from Mason.
x.  Asa. Born Bethel, Maine, on 1 Jun 1791. Data from Mason.
Went West.

He married ---- Gorham. Data from Mason.
xi.  Cynthia. Born Bethel, Maine, on 14 Jul 1793. Data from Mason.
452 xii.  Adeline (1797-)

215. Lucy Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Newton, Mass., on 20 May 1753. Died Hebron, Maine, on 25 Apr 1824. Residence: Bethel and Hebron, Maine. Data from Mason.

She married David Marshall, son of Thomas Marshall & Beriah Grant. Born Holliston, Mass., on 13 Dec 1750. Died Hebron, Maine, on 20 Nov 1828. Data from Mason.

Married Lucy as (2) wife.

They had the following children:
453 i.  David (1779-)
454 ii.  Asahel (1781-)
iii.  Lucy. Born Hebron, Maine, on 8 May 1783. Unmarried. Data from Mason.
iv.  Walter. Born Bethel, Maine, on 17 Aug 1785. Have no further data on this family. Data from Mason.
Walter Marshall was a Baptist minister.

He married Thirza Gurney, on 25 Nov 1813. Residence: Of Paris, Maine. Data from Mason.
455 v.  John (1787-)
456 vi.  Moses (1789-)
457 vii.  Aaron (1792-1865)
458 viii.  Nathan (1795-)
459 ix.  Miriam (1798-)

216. Moses Mason Jr. (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Newton, Mass., on 26 Apr 1757. Died Bethel, Maine, on 13 Oct 1837. Residence: Dublin, N. H., and Bethel, Maine. Served in the Revolutionary War. Data from Mason.

Moses Mason served in Capt. Joseph Parker's Company, Col. Enoch Hale's Reg't., 1776, marched to Ticonderoga. He marched to relieve same place in Capt. Mellen's Company, June-July 1777; in Capt. Salmon Stone's Company July-Septenber 1777. He fought at Bennington and Stillwater; he went with the troops under Col. Daniel Reynolds in 1781 to West Point. May 5, 1786, he gave a receipt for ratuions and travel money to Springfield, Mass. (Reference, Dublin, N. H., Revolutionary Soldiers.)
On Col. Enoch Hal's return, 1777, he is registered as enlisted from Dublin, N. H., for nine months' service, and described as 21 years, 5 ft. 6 in. high. His name is on the pay roll of a company commanded by Capt. John Mellen, which marched from Fitzwilliam and towns adjacent to reinforce the garrison at Ticonderoga on the Alarm in June and July 1777. "Date of entry, June 28, time of service 5 days, date of discharge July 2nd. Also on pay roll of Capt. Salmon Stone's Company in Col. Nichols' Reg't. Gen. Stark's Brigade raised out of the fifteenth Reg't. of New Hampshire Militia, Enoch Hale, Colonel, which Company marched from Rindge in said State July 1777, and joined the Northern Continental Army at Bennington and Stillwater. He enlisted July 21 and was discharged September 26, 1777, having served 1 month and 10 days."
The day after the Battle of Bennington he picked up a sword and powder horn which are still preserved in the family. His son, Dr. Moses Mason, had in his possession the gun used by his father in that battle, June 20, 1780.
In 1799 Moses Mason moved to Bethel, Maine, where he bought the farm, located on the north side of Barker's Ferry, then occupied by Capt. Eleazer Twitchell, and afterwards owned by his son, Aaron Mason, and in 1892 by his grandson, Moses Ayres Mason. He was active in town affairs, highway surveyor, 1799, bid off the collection of taxes, March 1, 1802, constable, 1802, again bid off the collection of taxes at six cents on the dollar, 1808, on a committee of accounts, 1808, collector and constable, 1810, also on a committee to have in charge in celebration of July 4th, at Middle Intervale. Representative, 1812, 1813, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1819. When he was elected in 1813 he received 68 votes against 27 for Timothy Carter, which showed his popularity.
July 13, 1812, a meeting was called to take action on the war with Great Britain and he was on that committee, member of school committee, 1814, moderator, 1824-1825, selectman, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, justice of the peace.
In religion, a Baptist and a member of The First Baptist Society in Bethel.

He married Eunice Ayres, daughter of Lieut. William Ayres 2d & Rachel Barns, on 20 Jun 1780 in Brookfield, Mass. Born Brookfield, Mass., on 17 Jan 1761. Died Bethel, Maine, on 4 Feb 1846. Data from Mason.

They had the following children:
460 i.  Thirza (1781-1864)
461 ii.  Susan (1783-)
iii.  Moses. Born Dublin, N. H., on 31 Mar 1785. Died on 26 Aug 1788. Data from Mason.
462 iv.  Aaron (1787-1855)
v.  Moses. Born Dublin, N. H., on 2 Jun 1789. Died Bethel, Maine, on 25 Jun 1866. Data from Mason. No children.
Moses Mason made his first appearance in Bethel when ten years of age, his father having moved there. He worked for his father upon the farm until he was twenty-one, and then, having had limited facilities for an education and desiring to prepare himself for the practice of medicine, he entered the office of his brother-in-law, Dr. James Ayer, and not only studied medicine but the rudiments of an education. In the winter he taught school and after some years was able to commence practice at Bethel Hill in 1813.
He had early, partly by force of circumstance and partly from choice, engaged in public affairs which demanded much attention, and when elected to Congress in 1833 he laid aside the practice of medicine. He was the first postmaster of Bethel, being appointed January 5, 1815. Previous to that time the inhabitants had to go to Waterford for their nearest office, and he used to say that he was scarcely ever more excited in his life than when he stood listening to the postman's horn sounding in the distance, announcing the important fact that the mail was coming to Bethel for the first time. Moderator, 1819, also on the school committee, justice of the peace, 1821, and holding that office most of the time to his death. He married some eighty-six individuals for which he never received a cent, invariably giving the fee to the bride. Licensed as an innholder, 1821, county commissioner, 1830, elected representative to Congress from the Second District, 1833, re-elected 1835, being in Congress during the exciting administration of Andrew Jackson; selectman, 1838, 1839, 1844, 1848; member of the Governor's Council, 1843, 1845, appointed a trustee of the Insane Hospital, 1844; elected president of Gould's Academy, December 23, 1853, holding that office until November 1865. He was a large proprietor in the present town of Mason, Maine, having in 1827 built and operated mills there, and in 1843 when the town was incorporated it was named in his honor. Though decided in his political preferences he respected merit wherever it was found, and as a counsellor, particularly in political affairs, he was unusually clever, generally predicting the result of a given course of action.
Dr. Mason built a fine mansion house facing the Bethel Common and for several years before his death lived there in quiet retirement, spending his time reading and with some mechanical work with which he was most ingenious. He was also greatly interested in improving the Woodland Cemetery. He had the first painted house in Bethel and was considered very extravagant, and when he put blinds on the house it was said that he was becoming aristocratic; also had the first sofa made in 1821 by Marshall Bonney, cabinet maker.
Dr. Mason was a conspicuous figure at Bethel, portly in size and of fine presence. In his later years, when his hair (which he allowed to remain quite long) was white as snow, he was a striking example of the patriarch. He was quick at repartee, as the following will show. The maiden name of Dr. Mason's wife was Straw, and one day he chanced to meet Paul Morse who said, "Dr., when are you going to bring your bundle of straw over to see my wife?" to which he promptly replied, "After you have brought your bunch of moss over to see mine."
At the time of his death he was the oldest proprietor in the village, having lived on the same spot more than fifty years.

He married Agnes More Straw, daughter of Lieut. Gideon Straw & Mary Robinson, on 15 Jun 1815. Residence: Of Enfield, Maine. Data from Mason.
463 vi.  Lydia (1791-)
464 vii.  Eunice (1793-)
viii.  Hannah. Born Dublin, N. H., on 23 Jul 1795. Have no further data on this family. Data from Mason.
She married Capt. John Pease, on 5 Sep 1827. Born Parsonfield, Maine. Died on 13 Mar 1853. Data from Mason.

Married Hannah as (2) wife.
465 ix.  Charles (1798-1824)
466 x.  Ayers (1800-1890)
xi.  Louisa (or Louisiana). Born Bethel, Maine, on 15 Jun 1804. Baptized on 29 Jun 1804. Have no further data on this family. Data from Mason.
SML Comment: Birth date also given as June 15, 1803 or 1804.

She married Dr. Baker Webster, on 28 Oct 1833. Residence: Of Sandown, N. H. Data from Mason.

217. Mary Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Sherborn, Mass., on 22 Mar 1760. Died Bethel, Maine, on 21 Feb 1825. Data from Mason.

She married Nathaniel Greenwood, son of Joseph Greenwood & Sarah Greenwood, on 24 Jun 1782 in Dublin, N. H. Born Sherborn, Mass., on 6 Nov 1761. Died probably Farmington, Maine, on 7 Nov 1846. Data from Mason.

Nathaniel Greenwood settled at Bethel and for a time resided on the Moses A. Mason farm.

They had the following children:
467 i.  Sarah (1783-1833)
468 ii.  Ebenezer (1785-1856)
469 iii.  Polly (1787-1849)
iv.  Joseph. Born Bethel, Maine, on 2 Feb 1789. Died Bethel, Maine, in 1810. Data from Mason.
470 v.  Nathaniel (1790-1867)
471 vi.  Thaddeus (1794-1864)
472 vii.  Lydia (1794-1881)
473 viii.  Hollica (1796-1884)
474 ix.  Mason (1798-1844)
475 x.  Harley (1800-1882)
476 xi.  Hannibal (1802-1833)

218. Hannah Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Sherborn, Mass., on 4 May 1762. Died living 1847. Residence: Dublin, N. H., and Bethel, Maine. Data from Mason.

She first married James Mills, on 7 Feb 1782 in Dublin, N. H. Died Bethel, Maine, in 1790. Data from Mason.

Killed by a falling tree.

They had the following children:
477 i.  John (1782-)
ii.  Hannah. Born Dublin, N. H., on 9 Jan 1784. Data from Mason.
iii.  Deborah. Born Bethel, Maine, on 27 Jan 1786. Data from Mason.
478 iv.  Cyrus (1790-)

She second married Elijah Grover, son of James Grover & Sarah Wellman, on 10 Sep 1792 in Bethel, Maine. Died in 1805. Data from Mason.

They had the following children:
479 i.  Mary (1793-1820)
480 ii.  Elijah (1795-)
481 iii.  Nathan (1797-1879)
482 iv.  George Washington (1798-1888)
483 v.  Jeremiah (1801-1871)
484 vi.  Elvira (1805-)

219. Betsey Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Sherborn, Mass., on 18 Jul 1764. Died Bethel, Maine, on 30 Jan 1846. Residence: Bethel, Maine. Data from Mason.

She married Benjamin Clark, son of Norman Clark & Hannah Bird, on 29 Mar 1784. Born probably Newton, Mass., on 13 Apr 1759. Died Bethel, Maine, on 9 Mar 1802. Data from Mason.

They had the following children:
485 i.  Norman (1784-1857)
ii.  Susanna. Born Bethel, Maine, on 26 Sep 1786. Died on 20 Oct 1789. Data from Mason.
iii.  Betsey. Born Bethel, Maine, on 20 Aug 1789. Died on 26 Sep 1864. Unmarried. Data from Mason.
iv.  Achsa. Born Bethel, Maine, on 12 Dec 1791. Have no further data on this family. Data from Mason.
She married John Burbank. Residence: Of Gorham, Maine. Data from Mason.
v.  Amasa. Born Bethel, Maine, on 13 Feb 1794. Died on 2 Jan 1837. Data from Mason.
486 vi.  Hannah Bird (1796-)
487 vii.  Lydia Knapp (1798-1883)
viii.  Moses. Born Bethel, Maine, on 6 Mar 1801. Died on 7 Feb 1802. Data from Mason.

220. Walter Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Sherborn, Mass., on 10 Oct 1766. Died Bethel, Maine, on 30 Jun 1839. Residence: West Bethel, Maine. Data from Mason.

Walter Mason was one of the Captains in a company of light infantry which was organized in the West Parish soon after the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. He was also active in town affairs, highway surveyor, 1798, member of the school committee, 1798, and a member of the First Baptist Society in Bethel.

He married Esther Barker, daughter of John Barker & Rachel Piper, on 21 Oct 1793. Born on 10 Mar 1776. Baptized Acton, Mass., on 29 May 1785. Died Bethel, Maine, on 20 Jun 1843. Data from Mason.

Baptized as First Congregational Church, Acton, Mass.

They had the following children:
488 i.  Esther (1794-1862)
ii.  Thirza. Born West Bethel, Maine, on 27 May 1796. Died on 25 Jun 1813. Data from Mason.
489 iii.  Elmira (1798-1880)
iv.  Rachel. Born West Bethel, Maine, on 20 Jul 1800. Died on 4 Jul 1806. Data from Mason.
490 v.  Lawson (1802-1892)
491 vi.  Walter Barker (1804-1875)
492 vii.  Rachel (1806-1881)
493 viii.  John Barker (1809-1867)
ix.  Catherine. Born West Bethel, Maine, on 29 Mar 1812. Died on 4 Jul 1907. Unmarried. Data from Mason.
x.  Thirza. Born West Bethel, Maine, on 15 Feb 1815. Died on 25 Jul 1827. Data from Mason.
494 xi.  Javan Knapp (1817-1900)
xii.  Lucinda Barker. Born West Bethel, Maine, on 14 May 1820. Died on 14 Mar 1833. Data from Mason.

221. John Mason (Moses4, Daniel3, John2, Hugh1). Born Dublin, N. H., on 5 Mar 1769. Died Gilead, Maine, on 19 Aug 1843. Residence: Dublin, N. H., Bethel and Gilead, Maine. Data from Mason.

In 1788 John Mason had a private school in West Bethel, Maine; in 1789 he moved to Bethel and settled on Grove Hill, and in 1793 moved to Gilead. The following is taken from the Cumberland County Court Records kept at Portland, Maine. John Mason of Bethel is recorded as "having sold land in Bethel, viz. the twenty-eighth lot in the fourth range of lots on the south side of the Androscoggin River, July 3, 1799 to Jedidiah Grover."
John Mason had ninety-five grandchildren.
The following birth dates are taken from an old account book kept by Artemas Mason, and now in the possession of Mr. Donald Hastings Bean of South Paris, Maine, and brought to my attention by Mr. Harold M. Lawrence.

SML Comment: Birth given as May 8, 1769 for child in parents' family.

He married Berthiah Houghton, daughter of James Houghton & Phoebe Holt, on 16 Jan 1788 in Dublin, N. H. Born on 8 Mar 1771. Died Gilead, Maine, on 21 Apr 1846. Data from Mason.

They had the following children:
495 i.  John (1789-1877)
496 ii.  Lydia (1791-1872)
497 iii.  Bethiah (1793-)
498 iv.  Sylvanus (1795-1875)
499 v.  Betsey (1797-1866)
500 vi.  Ira (1800-)
501 vii.  Phebe (1802-1836)
502 viii.  Lorenzo (1804-1884)
ix.  Salome Chapman. Born Gilead, Maine, on 13 Apr 1805. Died on 27 Nov 1849. Unmarried. Data from Mason.
503 x.  Mary. C. (1807-1895)
504 xi.  Artemas (1809-1893)
505 xii.  Orinda Leonard (1812-1894)
506 xiii.  Moses (1815-1897)

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