This is the story of James Mason, my Great Grandfather. It was written about 1935 by Nelson Mason, James’ son and my Grandmother’s brother. The author, Nelson Mason was a family genealogist when research had to be accomplished by snail mail. It is mostly the account of the one time Nelson and his father spent some time together and includes a letter written to Nelson by James Bardin, the man James Mason worked for after he returned from his first sailing expedition. All the notes in [Brackets] were added by me, Robert Henderson.
James Mason’s father [Robert Henderson’s Great Great Grandfather] was a ship’s carpenter residing in Boston, a man standing nearly six feet in height. His wife was of Irish lineage and very probably was one of those who came to Boston from Ireland in the great Irish migration of 1847, due to famine. To this union there were born two sons: James [Robert’s Great Grandfather], born January 23, 1856, in Boston, and John, Jr., two years younger. The father was a protestant; the mother, Catholic. When the boys were respectively eleven and nine years of age, John Mason, while building a house in rainy weather, contracted a cold and pneumonia, and soon his family was left to face life as best they might.
James Mason accepted employment on a farm. Here, finding the duties imposed upon him unduly strenuous, he wrapped his few belongings in a handkerchief and ran as fast and far as breath would permit. Then, hiding until dark, he proceeded into the city, and next morning shipped out of Boston harbor as a sailor. Following the sea for several years he returned to Boston finding his mother married again and with a young daughter. His brother John Jr. was comfortably settled with an uncle.
Striking out toward the west, James stopped over night at the Bardin farmstead in Dalton, Mass. Then a husky lad of seventeen he was offered work on the farm and accepted. Having had little opportunity for education he took advantage of the rural school facilities. Unable then, to divide by long division he nevertheless made such rapid progress that he was the local teacher two years later. Town reports state he taught at the South, the East, and the North schools, and lastly at the Grammar school in the village during the years 1878 – 79 and 80. The reports indicate “he gave excellent satisfaction to all concerned.” In the census of 1880 James Mason is found at Dalton, a school teacher, with birth-place of both parents given as Ireland. This probably was true in the case of the mother, but not of the father. The Bardins doubtless gave this to the census enumerator during James’ absence at school and as their best guess. He was there in 1883, as indicated by Irene’s birth certificate obtained from the town clerk. He united with the Congregational Church of Dalton.
Learning of the science of Phrenology, James went to New York City, enrolling at the American Institute of Phrenology, later known as Fowler & Wells, from which he was graduated November 12, 1880. Here he met Martha Scott Fair, slender brunette of Sandyville Iowa. They met again in Denver, Colo., where on June 1, 1882, they were married at the home of the bride’s maternal uncle and aunt, Isaac and Sarah Cooper. Everybody said it was an ideal match. James was a man of fine bearing, fair, ruddy complexion, blue eyes and aquiline nose, with heavy, straight brown hair and sandy whiskers. It was popular then to wear a beard and his plans to be a world traveler and health lecturer clinched his decision to allow no razor to come upon his face from the age of 19 to 49. He was 5 feet, 8 inches in height, reaching a maximum weight of 220 pounds. He became a dynamic, forceful public speaker.
Upon their marriage James and Martha Mason went to Dalton, Mass., where he resumed teaching. There on February 15, 1883, a daughter, Irene Leila, was born. Determining to enter upon his profession of phrenology, then at its height, Prof. Mason moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, traveling out from there. They made their home last at 250 Oregon Street, where an elderly widow, Mrs. McKay, resided. The city Engineer’s office advises that this is now [ca. 1940] 2136 Rockwell Avenue. The Cleveland directory for 1884 shows: “MASON, James, Phrenologist, 376 St. Clair,” and “McKay, Esther, wid. John, r. 250 Oregon.” They resided at this address when the writer [Nelson Mason] joined the family on January 18, 1884.
A letter from James E. Bardin of Dalton, dated February 2, 1928, says relative to the life of James Mason:
He worked on the farm, studied, went to night school and picked up education to teach a country school. He taught in three districts here in Dalton. I went school to him. He went to an academy at Wilbraham, Mass. – (this undoubtedly was Wilbraham Academy, an old institution still in a prosperous condition. It is in the nature of a college preparatory school.) He then taught the grammar or high school a few years, boarding at home and riding back and forth on a wooden velocipede. While teaching in this school he would go to a professor in Williams College, in Williamstown, Mass., for special instructions. (This is a nonsectarian men’s school, high in the Berkshires, and operated by a private corporation. Here the Institute of Human Relations held sessions in 1935, 1937 and 1939 [The 1939 session, under the auspices of the National Conference of Christians, and Jews, was the largest group of Protestants, Jews and Roman Catholics ever to assemble in the history of the world.] Then became interested in phrenology and went to school in New York for a year, - went on a lecture tour of the west, headquartering for a time at Bozeman, Montana.
Mr. Mason worked out a butter stamp or mould that would cut and stamp butter from tub or as made. These mould were made in different sizes from individual prints—one-half pound and pound cakes. One was made for cutting pound cakes of lard, which was not successful because lard is so sticky. While in this business his headquarters were at home. The wooden stamp was made in a nearby town, and the other parts were made and nickeled in Waterbury, Conn. (Several moulds are still in the family attic at Dalton.) On his way from the west he married Martha A. Scott of Iowa. They came home and my parents helped them get started in housekeeping in one part of a neighbor’s home. Irene was born there February 15, 1883.
After that Mr. and Mrs. Mason moved to Cleveland, Ohio, which is the last we knew of them for a while. Some years later we received a letter, signed by James Mason from a city in eastern Massachusetts, stating that he had fulfilled his heart’s desire to go around the world, and would call and see us but we never saw him. One other thing, he worked with the Board of Assessors one year with my father, making out the taxes for the town, for Mr. Mason was a good penman. (He had taught penmanship.) I saw the book last summer as I was looking back for records. I am now on the Board of Assessors. His brother, John, lived here a short time when James was away. He was a laborer on the railroad. I do not know what became of him (A tin-type of John was seen in the family album.)
[On Oct. 11, 1946 James Bardin was killed by a car {without (illegible side note)……..?} into the herd of his cattle he was driving, in his 80th year.]
[Tomorrow, Chapter 2]
No comments:
Post a Comment