Stevens Thomson Mason was born on October 27, 1811, and died on January 4, 1843. He was an American politician who served as Michigan's first governor from 1835 to 1840. At a young age, Mason became well-known in politics. At 19, he was appointed acting territorial secretary by Andrew Jackson. Later, in 1834 at age 22, he became acting territorial governor. In this role, Mason helped lead Michigan to statehood, which was achieved in 1837. As a member of the Democratic Party, Mason was elected as Michigan's first state governor in 1835. He held this position until 1840. He was elected governor at age 23 and took office at age 24. Mason is still recognized as the youngest person to ever serve as a state governor in the United States.

Early life in Virginia and Kentucky

Mason was born near Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, into a family with great influence in politics. His great-grandfather, Thomson Mason (1733–1785), was the chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and the younger brother of George Mason (1725–1792), who participated in the Constitutional Convention. His grandfather, Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803), served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1794 until his death. His uncle, Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819), also served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia. Additionally, his uncles by marriage, Benjamin Howard (1760–1814) and William Taylor Barry (1784–1835), both worked in the Kentucky House of Representatives and were U.S. Representatives from Kentucky. Howard also served as Governor of the Louisiana (Missouri) Territory from 1810 to 1812 and later as Governor of the Missouri Territory from 1812 to 1813. Barry worked as a U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1814 to 1816 and later held many government positions in Kentucky, eventually becoming U.S. Postmaster General from 1829 to 1835.

In 1812, Mason’s father, John Thomson Mason (1787–1850), left the Mason family home in Virginia to try to build his own wealth in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1817, President James Monroe appointed the older Mason as United States marshal. Although his business efforts failed and the family became very poor in the 1820s, he was a lawyer and land agent from an influential family. He later became an important person in the Texas Revolution.

Life and politics in Michigan Territory

John Mason was appointed secretary of the Michigan Territory and superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson. Young Stevens was more skilled in politics than his father and helped protect him from plans created by people who opposed Jackson. This earned him attention from the territorial governor, Lewis Cass. In 1831, President Jackson sent the older Mason on a mission to Mexico and named Stevens to take his father’s place as secretary at the age of 19, before he could even vote. Around the same time, Governor Cass became Jackson’s Secretary of War. Since the territorial secretary usually acted as governor, young Mason held that role until George Bryan Porter, who was chosen to replace Cass in August 1831, arrived in Detroit in 1832. However, Porter was often away, and Mason, for all practical purposes, was the acting governor during this time, earning the nickname "Boy Governor." Porter died from cholera in Detroit in 1834, and Mason once again served as acting governor of the Michigan Territory.

Mason played a key role in asking for Michigan statehood. When the first request in 1832 was not addressed by the U.S. Congress, Mason ordered a census of the territory. When the census was finished in 1834, it showed that 85,856 people lived in the lower peninsula, more than the 60,000 required for statehood by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. A disagreement over a piece of land called the Toledo Strip, claimed by both Michigan and Ohio, led to the Toledo War. President Jackson chose Benjamin Chew Howard of Baltimore and Richard Rush of Philadelphia to settle the dispute, but Mason was not happy with the plan and refused to agree. To avoid angering political supporters in Ohio, President Jackson removed Mason as territorial secretary in August 1835 and replaced him with John S. ("Little Jack") Horner.

First governor of the state of Michigan

Although replaced by Horner, Mason remained popular in Michigan. Voters approved a state constitution on October 5, 1835, and elected Mason as governor. However, the U.S. Congress refused to recognize Michigan as a state until the disagreement with Ohio was resolved.

In 1836, facing money problems because Michigan was not recognized as a state, Mason agreed to a compromise proposed by the U.S. Congress. He agreed to give up the disputed land to Ohio in exchange for the western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula; Michigan already included the eastern third. A meeting in September 1836 refused to support Mason, but he eventually won approval in a second meeting in December 1836. On January 26, 1837, Michigan became a state.

In 1835, Mason started a major plan to improve the state’s infrastructure, which included building three railroads and two canals (one was the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal). Mason was re-elected in 1837, but the state’s economy soon suffered because of the Panic of 1837. Earlier in 1837, Mason had arranged to fund the improvements by selling $5,000,000 (equivalent to $144 million in 2024) in bonds. This plan failed in 1837. After the company building the canal and the bank supporting the loans went bankrupt, the state had over $2,000,000 (equivalent to $57.4 million in 2024) in debt. During trips to New York to fund his projects, Mason met Julia Phelps, and they married on November 1, 1838.

In early 1838, Mason led the state militia to stop the Patriot War, an attempt by some people to invade and take parts of Canada. The schooner Ann was taken by the Patriots on January 8 and sailed to Gibraltar, Michigan. Mason, along with 200 militiamen, chased them in two steamships. A hundred Canadian soldiers also followed in the steamer Alliance. Mason met with the Patriot leaders at Gibraltar, but the captured schooner Ann continued toward Fort Malden on the Canadian shore. On January 9, the Patriots attacked Fort Malden and the town of Amherstburg from the Ann. Canadian soldiers took positions in the town while the Patriots moved 300 men to Bois Blanc Island across the river. The Canadian soldiers fired on the schooner when it tried to reach the island. They wounded several crew members and damaged the ship’s sails and rigging. The ship ran aground, and the Canadian soldiers boarded it, captured the crew, and found no resistance. The remaining Patriot forces retreated to the American side of the river. Several Patriots were wounded, a few were killed, and the Canadians captured 300 muskets, 2 cannons, 10 kegs of gunpowder, and other supplies. The actions of the "Patriots" were considered a violation of the Neutrality Act by the United States.

Instead of running for re-election in 1839, which might have been difficult, Mason decided to leave politics and try a career as a private lawyer. His successor as governor, William Woodbridge, an old political opponent, blamed Mason for Michigan’s financial problems and accused him of corruption related to the $5,000,000 loan. Mason tried to defend himself, but his reputation was damaged.

Retirement and death in New York

In 1841, Mason moved from Michigan to New York City, where his wealthy father-in-law, Thaddeus Phelps, lived. Mason tried to start a law practice there but had difficulty gaining clients. He became very sick with pneumonia during the winter of 1842 and died at the age of 31 on the night of January 4, 1843. However, some records list his death date as January 5.

Mason was first buried at New York Marble Cemetery. On June 4, 1905, his remains were moved to Detroit by his sister Emily Mason, who was 92 years old at the time, his daughter Dorothy Mason Wright, three grandsons, and several grand-nephews and great-grandchildren. A religious service was led by Rev. David M. Cooper, who had known Mason when he was governor 70 years earlier. Other important people present included then-Governor Fred M. Warner and the mayor of Detroit, George P. Codd. His remains were buried at Capitol Park, the location of the old Michigan Capitol. Later, a bronze statue of Mason, created by sculptor Albert Weinert, was placed on a granite pedestal above his grave. The statue showed young Mason in a confident stance.

On September 3, 2009, officials said the park would be changed, and the monument would be moved. When workers began digging, they found no grave. After four days of searching, the vault containing Mason’s remains was discovered on June 29, 2010, a few yards south of its original location. It was believed the grave had been moved in 1955 to make space for a bus terminal.

On October 27, 2010, which was the 199th anniversary of Mason’s birth, he was buried for the fourth time in a new vault beneath the bronze statue. Mason’s great-great-great grandnephew, who lives in Grosse Ile, Michigan, watched the reburial. The current dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where Mason’s funeral took place in 1843, led the ceremony. Before the reburial, Mason’s remains were taken to Lansing and placed on display in the Capitol Building. Mason was the fourth Michigan governor to lie in state in the Capitol.

Among his other achievements, Mason helped create an educational system and moved the University of Michigan to Ann Arbor.

Marriage and children

Mason married Julia Elizabeth Phelps in New York City on November 1, 1838. The couple had three children:

• Stevens Thomson Mason Jr. (August 1, 1839 – January 27, 1843)
• Dorothea Eliza Mason Wright (October 29, 1840 – October 4, 1916). Known as Dora, she was married to Colonel Edward H. Wright (1824–1913), a career officer in the United States Army. Dora and Edward Wright had a child named William M. Wright, a U.S. Army officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general.
• Thaddeus Phelps Mason (March 11, 1842 – April 1847)

Places named in Mason's honor

• The city of Mason, Michigan, is the main city in Ingham County, where the state capital, Lansing, is located.
• Mason County, Michigan.
• Lawrence, Michigan was originally called Mason from 1835 to 1843.
• Mason Hall at Michigan State University.
• Mason Hall at the University of Michigan.
• Stevens T. Mason State Office Building in Lansing, Michigan.
• Mason Senior High School in Erie Township, Michigan.
• Stevens T. Mason Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.
• Stevens T. Mason Middle School in Waterford Township, Michigan.
• Mason Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan.
• Mason Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
• Mason Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Mason Street in Saginaw, Michigan.