James W. Mason

James Worthington Mason (1841 – November 1874) was a state senator, sheriff, and postmaster in Arkansas. In 1868 he was one of the first six African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House.[1] He also served in the Arkansas Senate[2] and was the first African American postmaster in the United States.[3]

James W. Mason
Born1841
Chicot County, Arkansas
DiedNovember 1874(1874-11-00) (aged 32–33)
OccupationPolitician
ParentElisha Worthington

Early life

James W. Mason was born in 1841 in Chicot County, Arkansas.[4] His father, Elisha Worthington, was a Kentucky-born large landowner and the owner of the Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County.[4] His mother was an African slave owned by his father.[4] As a result, he was a mulatto. He had a sister, Martha. They were both recognized by their father, and they studied at Oberlin College in Ohio.[4] He also studied in France.[4]

Career

Mason was appointed as the postmaster of Sunnyside in 1867, becoming the first documented African-American postmaster in the United States.[4][5]

He served as a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1868 to 1869.[4]

He was appointed as Consul General to Liberia on March 29, 1870.[6] However, he failed to fill the position.[4]

He served in the Arkansas Senate a second time, from 1871 to 1872.[4] He then served as the Sheriff of Chicot County from 1872 to 1874.[4] In the summer of 1873, he was arrested under the suspicion of inciting a race war in the county.[4] The judge, Colonel John A. Williams, dismissed the trial.[4]

Personal life

He married Rachel, who was also of mixed race.[4] They had a daughter, Fannie. Mason died in late November 1874.[4]

References
  1. "Black History Month 2021".
  2. "Minorities in the Arkansas Senate".
  3. "African American Postal Workers in the 19th Century" (PDF). About: Postal People. United States Postal Service. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. James W. Mason (1841–1875), The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
  5. Deanna Boyd, Kendra Chen, The History and Experience of African Americans in America’s Postal Service, National Postal Museum
  6. U.S. Department of State: Office of the Historian


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