Historian - February 2007

In the early 1600’s explorers from Europe sailed across the Atlantic and along our seacoast. Explorer Martin Pring of Bristol, England was among the first to do so in 1603. It seems that Pring was in search of a plant called sassafras. Without getting into too much detail, syphilis was quite bothersome in the 16^th century. It turns out that sassafras has medicinal qualities that helped relieve the irritating symptoms of this sometimes deadly disease. It therefore was a valuable plant and Mr. Pring was quite interested in finding a supply of it.

A couple of years later in 1605, Samuel de Champlain arrived and discovered the Isles of Shoals and came ashore at Odiorne’s Point. George Weymouth was next having set sail from England that same year. He stopped somewhere along the coast of Maine and picked up four Native Americans who traveled back to Plymouth, England with him. Weymouth presented the Indians to the Governor of Plymouth, Sir Fernando Gorges.

Gorges was impressed with the Indians and was quite enthusiastic about the possibilities that awaited settlers of the New World. Through his lobbying efforts, Gorges convinced King James of England to issue a charter to the Plymouth Company for a large tract of land in North America that essentially covered what is now northern New England. This charter was the first legal document that showed claim of this land by England. A settlement was soon established but, after a year or so of trying, the colony wasn’t able to make it and the settlers returned to England. In 1607, after a few years of educating his Indian friends, Gorges sailed to America to check out the area for himself with two of the Indians as guides.

In 1614, Captain John Smith sailed to America and mapped the coast and even sailed up the Piscataqua River. His map was later presented to the English Royalty; it identified the region as “New England.”

On November 3, 1620, King James made a grant to Sir Fernando Gorges, who was serving as President of the Council of Plymouth, for the land called “New England.” About this time, Gorges met and befriended the Governor of Portsmouth, Hampshire County, England – Captain John Mason. Mason was a very successful merchant in London and together, the two men, Gorges and Mason, ran the Plymouth Company.

Over the next three years, Gorges and Mason refined the definition of their land grants and further identified the boundaries of their extensive land holdings. In 1627, a grant was issued by Captain Mason which delineated the southern boundary of his property. In that grant, he turned over all the land that is now northern Massachusetts to Sir Henry Roswell. On November 7, 1629, the Plymouth Company issued another grant to Captain Mason. In it the boundaries of Mason’s property were made quite clear and for the first time, the region was formally named – New Hampshire.

Now comes the tricky part. I mentioned all those land grants for a reason. You see, even in those early days, land ownership was a legal action. Of particular importance was the fact that upon a person’s death, his property was passed through his estate to his heirs. If someone wanted to lay claim to the property, the English courts reviewed the paperwork and resolved the dispute.

Captain John Mason⁽¹⁾, sometimes called the “Father of New Hampshire” died in 1635. He willed his property to his daughter Jane’s children (his grandsons) John and Robert Tufton; that is, if they would take on his last name. They agreed to his request and the boys, John Tufton Mason⁽²⁾ and Robert Tufton Mason, became the legal owners of New Hampshire.

John Tufton Mason⁽²⁾ died as a young man and Robert Tufton Mason inherited his grandfather’s whole estate. Robert died in 1688 and left two heirs – John Tufton Mason⁽³⁾ and Robert Tufton Mason. Alas, they weren’t too imaginative in naming their children. John⁽³⁾ died young and before dieing at sea in 1696, his brother Robert had a son, John Tufton Mason⁽⁴⁾. John⁽⁴⁾, who subsequently inherited the estate, died in Havana in 1718. Fortunately, he had a son, John Tufton Mason⁽⁵⁾ who was born in 1713.

Around 1691, the Mason family sold their land holdings. Interestingly, they didn’t do it legally and for several years in the early 1700’s, the issue of land ownership was the focus of numerous legal challenges. The question surfaced again in 1738, when John Tufton Mason⁽⁵⁾ made a legal claim to his ancestral property. There must have been something to his suit because Massachusetts quickly came to the table with cash in their hands and re-purchased their property from John Mason⁽⁵⁾ for the tidy sum of 500 pounds.

The legal advisers of the Province of New Hampshire recommended that they re-purchase the rest of the Mason claim from John⁽⁵⁾ and to do it as soon as possible. Naturally, they took their time and the matter got delayed. On February 22, 1745, Mason said that he would wait no longer, and threatened to sell his claim to others who were standing ready to make the purchase.

On July 30, 1746, John Tufton Mason⁽⁵⁾ carried out his threat and sold his New Hampshire claim to twelve investors from Portsmouth who immediately started granting townships all across the State. This group of Portsmouth men called themselves the Masonian Proprietors.

Our grand old Lodge was 10 years old when this grant was made in 1746. Oh, yes, and the transaction’s chief architect, John Tufton Mason^{(5)
-} well, he was welcomed into St. John’s Lodge as a member on March 5, 1740.

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