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Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], John W. Mason (1842-1917) Papers regarding Virginia Debt and Other Material, A&M 0037, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Mason, John W., Jr., 1936 July

Biographical / Historical

John W. Mason (1842-1917) was a prominent lawyer and Republican party member in the northern part of West Virginia from the early 1870s until his death. He had been a soldier in the Union army and after the war attended Monongalia Academy. He read law under Judge Marshall Hagans of Morgantown and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He practiced law in Grafton from 1867 to 1889. During this time he was made Chairman of the Republican State Executive Committee and served four years until 1876. He ran for the House of Representatives in 1882 and was defeated by William L. Wilson by ten votes. He tried for Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia six years after but lost. The highlight of his life was his appointment as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service by President Benjamin Harrison. At the end of his term of office, he returned to West Virginia and moved to Fairmont. He continued to practice law until he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court of Monongalia, Harrison, and Marion Counties in 1900. After he left Washington, he repeatedly attempted to secure another appointment in Washington but was unsuccessful. He retired from the bench in 1912 and was appointed Chairman of the West Virginia Debt Commission the following year. He served until the fall of 1915 when he was appointed to a vacant seat in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He stepped down in January of 1917 and died later that spring.

Scope and Contents

Letters and pamphlets of judge John W. Mason (1842-1917) chiefly concerning the Virginia Debt question. Mason was a circuit court and state Supreme Court judge, member of the Virginia State Debt Commission, and commissioner of Internal Revenue. There are also records of cases heard by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals while John W. Mason was a member of that body. For list of pamphlets, please see control folder.

Related Material

37, 1888, 3820

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Mason, John W., 1842-1917
• Virginia - Claims vs. West Virginia.
• Virginia - Debt Commission.
• Virginia-West Virginia debt controversy.