Descendants of the following Mason men have tested E1b1b1 on the YDNA test (see results at  http://www.ncroots.com/DNA-Mason-Worldwide/) and the matches are close enough that they are all one family.  Evidence suggests the family was in the Northern Neck of Virginia—probably Stafford—by the late 1600s, but with a dearth of records it is difficult to determine how these Mason lines might be connected.  I am posting this list for several reasons—the most important being that I’m stuck.  Hearing from anyone with additional information on any of them would be thrilling!
 
The other reason is that many of these men have been falsely attached to various Mason families where they don’t belong. I’ve found so many different versions of their origins on various websites that it is difficult to keep in focus.  One file at Ancestry has William (#3) as the son of John Mason (#1) and Mary Nelson and having the children of both their son William (a Baptist minister who lived and died in Culpeper Co. VA—never was in KY) and the William Mason who lived in Lincoln Co. KY.  The ONLY one of these Mason men there is any proof of parentage for is John (#1) whose probable father William left ample evidence of his existence in Stafford Co. VA. Stated parents for any of the rest are simply guesses—and often wrong.  I can prove those guesses were wrong—in short who their parents were NOT—but I cannot prove who the father of any of them (except John #1) was. 
 
I am posting this on a number of boards and mail lists, hoping those of you interested in any of these Mason lines will join me in finding facts and not relying on someone else’s earlier guess work. And if your family has Mason male, PLEASE do the DNA test. It’s the only way we’ll ever sort out the many Mason lines in Virginia.       ~Karen Dale
 
1.      John Mason-1722-1797--Stafford Co. VA. Married Mary Nelson in Stafford/Overwharton Parish, 27 Nov 1747. Some of the Masons listed in Overwharton records are their children (and others are probably John’s siblings, but I can’t prove that yet).  This line has been thoroughly researched by a number of people. DNA matches in the E1b1b1 group include descendants of his sons Lewis (lived in Stafford) and William (lived in Culpeper). His father was probably the William Mason who died in Stafford ca. 1745. Ten years later, John Mason was living and paying taxes on the same 100 acres William Mason inherited from his stepfather, William Wentworth Matheny.  William’s mother was Frances, but she was NOT Frances Norsworthy as many family trees on Ancestry and other sites claim. William’s wife when he died was named Jane, but she may not have been the mother of his older children—or any of his children for that matter. 
 
2.      James Mason, b. ca 1740; died in Culpeper Co.VA ca. 1779.  Married Mary Broderick, daughter of Sarah Hammett and Christopher Broderick. A 1769 deed for land in Culpeper says he was “of Stafford Co.”  and a 1772 deed in Culpeper says “of this county.” This line has been thoroughly researched from James to the present, but still no indication of parents for James. It is possible he’s a younger brother or half-brother to John Mason (above) but no evidence for that has been found. . 
3.      William Mason, born ca. 1740, married Sarah, lived in Greenbrier VA (daughter Jane married John McCandless in Greenbrier 5 Apr 1785) during/after the Revolution; moved to Lincoln Co. KY ca. 1786. He was too old to be the son of John Mason of Augusta/Botetourt as many claim. According to baptismal records, John’s second son, William, was born no earlier than 1750, but William of Lincoln Co. KY had a daughter, Jane, who was born May 3, 1764--and she was probably his second child. He could not possibly be the son of John Mason of Augusta/Botetourt unless he married at 12!  Also no evidence that William Mason’s wife Sarah was a McKeachy. Her name probably started with Mc—but no indication what the full name was. McKeachy was a guess/hearsay. 
 
4.      Gilbert Mason born ca. 1740, died Bedford Co. VA 1781. In 1762, he witnessed a deed in Fauquier Co. VA.  Married Elizabeth Dale, probably in Bedford Co. VA, probably about 1764.  DNA evidence from a line descended from a William Mason of Elbert Co, GA who was married to a Jane Pollard. According to a record in GA, both were born in VA.  Gilbert and Elizabeth had a son William and this appears to be he.  William of GA named one son Gilbert and another Reuben (also a son of Gilbert Mason, named after the Dale line). It would help if another line—perhaps from Gilbert’s sons Reuben or Lewis—would do the DNA test. 
 
5.      Gerard Alexander Mason,  married 1818 in Effingham GA:
Mason, Jarred A. married Treutlen [Maiden name Wisenbaker—married first a Tribner?], Ann Mary 02/04/1818; one child, Richard Alexander Thaddeus Mason born 28 Dec 1818.
Mary Ann Mason married Benjamin Kennedy 3/27/1824 in Effingham. 
Mary Ann Kennedy left a will dated 1828 in which she says her first husband, Gerrard Alexander Mason, was deceased and that he was “of North Carolina.” There is no evidence at all that this Gerard Alexander Mason was the grandson of George Mason of Gunston Hall as many (including Gunston Hall genealogists) have claimed.  The scion of Gunston Hall was ten years younger than Mary Ann Wisenbaker and he appears on Prince William VA tax rolls until his death in 1849.  He left a will which names only his brother and a nephew—no mention of a son in GA (or by that time in SC).
 
6.      James Mason born 1810/11, perhaps in Fauquier Co. VA; died 1865. Married in Fauquier Co. VA Frances Latham and Leona Hewitt and appears in the Fauquier census through 1860. Many family files claim he was the son of Colbert Mason and Margaret Rogers; however, census records for Colbert never include a male born ca. 1810/11.  The only James Mason in Fauquier tax records shows up first in 1830—a notation calls him the son of George. 
 
7.      John Mason, born about 1821 in VA; married Emeline Millner in Roanoke Co. VA Feb. 18, 1840.  I had guessed that he was a grandson of Martin Mason of Bedford/Botetourt largely because that’s the only Mason family in Roanoke in that time period and because he associated with them—paid taxes at the same time as several; married a girl who was an immediate neighbor of  Martin’s grandson Washington Mason, etc.  However, a DNA test by a descendant of Washington did not match the E1b1b1 group.  Much more work needs to be done on the Martin Mason family and on this John Mason.  		 	   		  
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