Dear ALVELEYHISTORIAN,
This is my first foray into Rootschat.
My grandmother was Catherine Mason of Ballymacelligott, Co. Kerry, Ireland and I am researching her family.
As far as I can determine, the Masons came to Ireland in the early 1600s and were descended from Sir John Mason of Sion, Middlesex (not to be confused with Sir John Mason of Abingdon, the diplomat and spy). I have a number of sources for that.
The earliest Masons I have found were Christopher, Henry and Castilian, who were granted rights over certain ports in the south east of Ireland, around, 1622. Christopher settled in Waterford and married a woman from York in 1627. Her name was Margaret but I am unable to decipher her surname - it may be 'Wright' but the handwriting is unclear.
By 1645, Margaret was a widow and was living in the City of Waterford.
One of Christopher and Margaret's descendants was John Mason who appears to have had a firm grip on political life in Waterford, was an MP and was knighted in the early 1700s. He also seems to have been very upright - at his own expense, he upheld the will of Bishop Hugh Gore against false claimants and ensured that the Bishop's estate was used for the benefit of widows and others. A witness to the Bishop's will was a Michael Mason, presumably a connection of John's. A Mrs. Michael Mason established the Blue Coat School in Waterford and the Mason arms were displayed over the door of the school.
Sir John died around 1710 and was interred in St. John's Church in Waterford. Unfortunately, that church no longer exists and I have yet to discover where the remains now are. His daughter and her child, a twin, also were interred there.
Sir John appears to have been very successful in business and had considerable assets. His grandson, Aland John Mason married into the Villiers family of Dromana, Cappoquin, County Waterford. The family, through various marriages, became the Mason Villiers and then the Villiers Stuarts. Conventionally, the family should have been the Mason Stuarts but the Masons were deemed to be less distinguished than the Villiers and, so, got airbrushed out of that family's history - notwithstanding that Aland John restored their fortunes and cleared their debts!!!
The family seems to have branched out from Waterford. One branch, who were confirmed arms in 1711, settled in Masonbrook, Loughrea, County Galway. That family became the Monck Masons when one of them married Sarah Monck of St. Stephen's Green, Dublin in the early 1700s. (That they were related to the Waterford Masons is undoubted as I have seen a will dated 1714 which confirms that.) The Monck Mason family later moved to Enniskerry, County Wicklow. The family home still exists in Enniskerry as does the family grave. One of them was a member of the Irish Privy Council around 1800. In the 1800s, they were distinguished academics and scientists- I understand one of them was famous balloonist. The family also is mentioned in 'A Genealogical and Heraldic History of The Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland' by John Burke in Volume IV Pages 354 and 355, 1838.
The Mason family connection with Wicklow pre-dates the Monck Masons - and may well have been their reason for moving there: Castilian Mason was granted lands in Wicklow in 1628 and, in 1641, Robert Mason wrote from Wicklow to the English Parliament giving an account of the war in Ireland - a copy of the letter is held in the National Library of Ireland.
The earliest I have been able to trace the County Kerry family is to 1704, when a son (John or James) of James Mason of Ballymacelligott married Avis McLaughlin of Ballydowney, County Kerry.
DUMSPIROSPERO if you read this, I would be greatly interested to know whether your research/documentation shows any connection between the Waterford and/or Masonbrook family and the County Kerry Masons.
Regards,
TWC
