John Calvin Mason

John Calvin Mason

John Calvin Mason (born August 4, 1802 in Mount Sterling , Montgomery County , Kentucky , † August 1865 in New Orleans , Louisiana ) was an American politician . Between 1849 and 1859 he represented the state of Kentucky twice in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Mason attended public schools in his home country. After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1823, he began to work in Mount Sterling in this profession. In addition to this activity, Mason was involved in the iron smelting business. He also embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1839, 1844, and 1848 .

During the Mexican-American War , Mason served in a Texas Rangers unit under General Zachary Taylor . In 1847 he moved to Owingsville. In the congressional elections of 1848 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the ninth constituency of Kentucky , where he succeeded Richard French on March 4, 1849 . After a re-election in 1850, he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1853 . During this time he was chairman of the Committee on Accounts . In 1852, Mason declined to run again. His mandate fell to Leander Cox of the Whig Party .

In the elections of 1856 , Mason was re-elected to Congress. There he took over from Cox. Between March 4, 1857 and March 3, 1859, he was able to complete another legislative period in the US House of Representatives. This was shaped by the events leading up to the civil war . During this tenure, Mason was chairman of the Committee on Accounts . In 1858 he declined to run again. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston . He was a Democratic elector in that year's presidential election; he voted for Stephen A. Douglas . During the Civil War, he served in a Texan unit that was subordinate to the Confederation Army. He died on a steamship on the Mississippi near New Orleans in August 1865 while on his way home to Kentucky. He was buried in Frankfort.

Web links

• John Calvin Mason in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Calvin Mason in the database of Find a Grave (English)