Jeremiah Mason

Jeremiah Mason was born on April 27, 1768, in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was the son of Jeremiah Mason (born circa 1729 or 1730, died 1813) and Elizabeth Fitch (born 1731, died 1809). Mason graduated from Yale College in 1788. After completing his education, he studied law and subsequently relocated to Vermont, where he was admitted to the bar in 1791.

Following his admission to the bar, Mason practiced law in Vermont for several years before moving to New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, he continued his legal practice and served as the state's attorney general from 1802 to 1805.

In the federal political arena, Mason was elected as a member of the Federalist Party to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy for the term beginning on March 4, 1813. He was sworn in on June 10, 1813, and served until June 16, 1817, when he resigned from the Senate. During his time in Congress, he was elected as a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.

Mason also engaged in state politics, serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives during the terms 1820–1821 and 1824. In 1828–1829, he was president of the Portsmouth branch of the United States Bank. He maintained correspondences with Nicholas Biddle, the president of the Bank of the United States.

In 1832, Mason moved to Boston, where he retired from active law practice in 1838 but continued working as chamber counsel until his death. He died in Boston on October 14, 1848, and was laid to rest in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Regarding his personal life, Jeremiah Mason married Mary Means on November 6, 1799. Mary was born in 1777 and died in 1858, and was the daughter of Robert Means and Mary McGregor Means. She was a sister of Elizabeth Means, who was married to Jesse Appleton, a Congregationalist minister; their daughter, Jane Means Appleton, was the wife of Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.

Jeremiah Mason and Mary Means had eight children, among whom were:

- George Means Mason (1800–1865)

- Robert Means Mason (1810–1879), who married Sarah Ellen Francis in 1843; she was the daughter of Ebenezer Francis and Elizabeth Thorndike Francis.

- Charles Mason (1812–1862), who served as Rector of Grace Church in Boston. He married Susannah Lawrence, daughter of merchant Amos Lawrence, and after her death, married Anna Huntington Lyman in 1849.

Jeremiah Mason died in Boston and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery. His descendants include Elizabeth Mason (1844–1924), who married Robert Charles Winthrop Jr., linking Mason to the family of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Other notable grandchildren include Ellen Francis Mason, Alfred Mason, Anna Frances Mason, Clara Thorndike Mason, and Ida Means Mason.