William S. and Mary B. Mason

MasonThe window shown at left was presented in memory of William Staton Mason (1819 – 1876) and his wife Mary H. (“May”) Barker (1824 – 1907); they were married on May 21, 1840. His headstone includes the title Capt. in his name, and the 1850 census lists his occupation as sailor; on the Civil War draft registration roll, he is listed as a sea captain (but over the age limit for active service at 41 years old). However, he is better documented as a merchant who, in 1868, owned a general merchandise store near the junction of Chestnut Street and SR5. According to the 1900 Census, Mary was a widow living with the family of George W. Atkins, her son-in-law. Mary E. M. Atkins, George W. Atkin’s daughter, memorialized on her own window on the north wall, was Mary Mason’s granddaughter. The gravestone of Mary Mason gives her year of death as 1908, while her death certificate and the Milton News letter of the Milford Chronicle gives the date as April 10, 1907, a year after the windows were presumably commissioned and installed. One can infer that the funds for the window were donated in anticipation of Mary Mason’s eventual demise, while the year on her headstone is an error.

The Masons had three sons besides Lucy who survived into adulthood: Capt. Charles Mason (1849 – 1927), well known on the maritime exchange, William W. Mason (1858 – 1929), a farmer, and James T. Mason (1861 – 1938), a Milton merchant. Any one of the progeny, or all four collectively, had the means to sponsor the memorial window.

 

 

 

 

Mason & Barker Marriage Certificate
Mason & Barker Marriage Certificate