Name: Shadrach Mason, Residence: Trempealeau, Wisconsin, Enlistment Date: 01 November 1861, Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE, Side Served: Union, State Served: Wisconsin

Unit Numbers: 3064 3064 3064 3064

Service Record:

Enlisted as a Private on 01 November 1861
Enlisted in Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 01 November 1861.
Discharged because of wounds Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 16 December 1862
Enlisted in Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 02 December 1863.
Died of disease Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 31 July 1864 in Galesville, WI

Name: Elijah Mason, Residence: Trempealeau, Wisconsin, Enlistment Date: 21 November 1861, Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE, Side Served: Union, State Served: Wisconsin

Unit Numbers: 3064 3064

Service Record:

Promoted to Full Sergeant
Enlisted as a Corporal on 21 November 1861
Enlisted in Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 21 November 1861.
Mustered out Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 09 October 1865 in Mobile, AL

Name: Thomas Mason, Residence: Trempealeau, Wisconsin, Enlistment Date: 05 September 1862, Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE, Side Served: Union, State Served: Wisconsin

Unit Numbers: 3064 3064

Service Record:

Enlisted as a Private on 05 September 1862
Enlisted in Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 05 September 1862.
Killed Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment Wisconsin on 03 October 1862 in Corinth, MS

Rev. Thomas Mason

Source: History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin, Illustrated (1881)

Rev. Thomas Mason, (deceased) one of the pioneer preachers of Richland county, was born in Pennsylvania in 1818. He commenced preaching in Richland Co., Ill., and was married there in 1847 to Almira Bradshaw, a native of Wayne Co., Ill. He continued preaching in Illinois until 1855, when he came to Richland Co., Wis., and settled on section 30, of town 12, range 1 east, in the present town of Henrietta. He immediately joined the Northwestern Conference, and was appointed to the West Branch circuit. In 1857 he went to Salem, La Crosse county, and preached one year, then to Mendota, where he remained two years, then to Augusta, in Eau Clair county remaining there two years, next to Galesville in Trempeleau county. He then enlisted as private in the 14th Wisconsin, company D, and went to the front. He was killed at the battle of Corinth. He had been appointed chaplain of his regiment, but had not taken the position at the time of his death. He left a wife and six children to mourn his loss. The children are—Shadrach, Elijah, Sarah, Mahala, Maggie and James E. The two eldest sons, Shadrach and Elijah, were in the same regiment and company with their father. Shadrach was severely wounded in the same battle in which his father was killed. He was discharged on account of disability, and returned home. He soon re-enlisted and died in the service. Elijah served till the close of the war, and is now living in Illinois. Mrs. Mason is now the wife of Henry T. Walser, a resident of Woodstock.

James Edward Mason

Source: History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin, Illustrated (1881)

James Edward, son of Thomas and Almira (Bradshaw) Mason, was born in the town of Henrietta, Feb. 28, 1861. He attended the district school, and later, the seminary at Elroy, and the high school at Sextonville. At the age of twelve he entered the employ of William Bradshaw as clerk. He continued in the same employment, excepting the time spent in school. until 1881, when he purchased the stock and good will of William Bradshaw and has since been engaged in trade. He keeps a good stock of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, glass ware and crockery, notions, etc. He was married in 1881 to Viola, daughter of Simon S. and Mary (Ambrose) Blake, who was born in the town of Orion. They have three children—Ray and Roy, twins, and Chester.

“When we were both twenty years old, I was married to Viola G. Blake in 1881. She is the mother of our four boys and two girls who are all married and have families of their own now.”

“My wife and I for a time ran a general merchandise store in which we had a fourth class post office. Although my wife was six weeks younger than I, she was of legal age, since she was a married woman. So she was postmistress until I was twenty-one, when I could be post-master. We were doing pretty good with our store and post office, but there was very little cash involved in the trading. The farmers brought in their butter and eggs which they traded for goods, and it was not long before I had all my little capital sunk in ‘accounts due’; thereby running my business on borrowed money. In about four years I traded the business for a little eighty-acre diversified farm. Neither did this farming venture turn out so well, and, anyway, I had got the ‘Far West’ fever.” (During this period their first children arrived. They were twins, Roy E. and Ray W. born 29 Dec. 1881 and Chester Arthur born 11 April, 1883.)

“My friend, Edgar Simmons had two brothers and a sister all in Wyoming. They had a horse ranch twenty miles from Trabine on the south fork of Crazy Woman Creek. I decided to leave my family on the farm and go out there with him to look things over. We bought our tickets to the Golden Gate, California, for twenty-eight dollars, while the fare to Cheyenne was $31.00, being cut rates to California. Had we gone on to California we would have gotten a rebate of $13.00. However, we got off at Cheyenne arriving there in April. There we outfitted ourselves to make the three hundred mile trip north to his brother’s ranch which was located north of the Hard Winter Davis Ranch on the Powder River. The nearest post office was at Trabine, twenty miles away.”

“After a few days in Cheyenne we started for the ranch. We had two cow ponies for a team and riding, and a light covered wagon with tarps to cover our bed rolls, guns, etc. The second day out one of the ponies balked, near an old freighter, fortunately, who had an extra mule which he sold to us for seventeen dollars. We worked the mule with the good cow pony which left the other for scouting around and chasing antelopes. I really wanted to take the balkiness out of that cow pony but my partner thought I might only make him worse, so I didn’t insist since I wanted to avoid disagreement.”

“The third day out was stormy and it began to snow. We made early camp that night, spreading the tarp out, making the bed rolls on one end of it, and then pulling the other half up over our heads. In the morning I reached for my boots and found them half full of snow, which taught me to double my boots over, laying the boots flat with the tops under so that rain or snow couldn’t get in. We were very evidently ‘tender-feet’.”

“Reaching our destination the afternoon of the tenth day, we met the Simmons. Charlie Simmons was mounted on a cow pony. He said to me, ‘I was just going over the hill there to pack in an antelope I killed, I’ll saddle another pony if you want to go along.’ I said ‘0.K.’ So we brought it in, stopping at a little log stable. He opened the door and there were two other antelope hung up. I learned to eat antelope three times a day and like it.’’

“Well, I stayed at the Simmons’ about a week, getting pointers on how to be a cowboy, and roping a few fence posts and horses. Wyoming at that time was wide open western land; no fences. Stage stations were about thirty miles apart and were the only settlements aside from the big cow and horse ranches.”

“One day Charlie and I rode over to a wide place in the road to meet a superintendent of the Powder River Cattle Company. This man was gathering an outfit to work on the round-up which was to collect three herds of three thousand each. I went with the third herd on the trail to the Northwest Territory of Canada. This was in April, 1886. I was twenty-five years old, about as tall as I am now, five feet eleven and a half inches, and my weight was only about a hundred and thirty, due to my finicky eating, although I was a bear on pies and cakes. But it wasn’t long before I could take my tin plate up to the cook wagon and load up with any mulligan they dished out. And, of course, we were all sleeping in the open.”

 

William Alger Bishop and Florence Maud Lavigne Marriage Record.

Archibald F. L. Bishop Death Record.

 

Spokane Riding Academy, J. E. Mason & Co., 1907

    

Ray Warren Mason and Jessie May Fowler Marriage Records.

 

Chester Arthur Mason and Roxie Lee Hubbard Marriage Record.

The Spokane Daily Chronicle, Spokane, Spokane Co., WA, Friday, July 19, 1912

WEALTHY MAN'S SON TAKEN FOR THEFT

On two charges, larceny and carrying concealed weapons, Tom Mason, well-known horseman and son of J. E. Mason, owner and manager of the Spokane Riding academy, was arrested Thursday afternoon. He is now out on $50 bail on each charge. Mason is said to have been caught in the act of stealing several pairs of shoes from the Dolby clothing store on Riverside avenue. The police are looking for S. D. Hastings, said to be the partner of Mason. "The father told me that the young man had taken his first taste of liquor Thursday, and I am satisfied that this was responsible for his rash act," said Chief of Police Doust this morning. "The young man is not in need of money, nor has he ever been."

 

William Alger Bishop and Margaret Martha Arseneau Marriage Record.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, WI, Tuesday September 18, 1928

Sisters Meet First Time in 35 Years

RICHLAND CENTER - Six sisters met for the first time in 35 years Sunday at the home of Mrs. Lou Pugh, Gotham. The sisters are the daughters of Simon and Mary Blake, pioneer residents of Richland county. One of the sisters has lived in the state of Washington for many years and this was her first visit to Wisconsin since 1907. She is Mrs. Viola Mason. The others are Mrs. William Abbey, Dodgeville; Mrs. Mary E. Davis, and Mrs. Charles Lovell, Madison; Mrs. Lou Pugh, Gotham; and Mrs. Pearl Lawton, Richland Center. Friends who attended were Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, Marvin and Ruby Mayfield, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Klousia, Letha and Gerald Klausia of Ash Creek; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stratman, Marian Stratman, Melva Perkins, Dodgeville; Clifford Pugh, Stevens Point; Harold Lovell, Muscoda; Martha and Helen Louise Lovell, Madison; Raymond Lawton, Richland Center; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Waite, Pern Pugh and Lou Pugh, Gotham. A picnic dinner was served.

James Edward "Eddy" Mason and Florence Maud (Lavigne) Bishop Marriage Records.

   

Viola Genoa "Ola" (Blake) Mason and Edna Pearl (Blake) Lawton, Wisconsin, June, 1949.

The Spokane Daily Chronicle, Spokane, Spokane Co., WA, Tuesday, March 9, 1954

FUNERALS

MASON, Rev. Ray Warren - His home was Newport, Wash., formerly in Spokane. Husband of Mrs. Jessie M. Mason, at the home; father of Mrs. Viola Curtis of St. John, Wash.; Perk R. Mason of Newport, Wash.; Charles E., Tom F., Edgar W., Edwin U. Mason, all of Spokane; Richard H. Mason of Yakima, Wash.; 20 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren; son of J. E. Mason of Bonita, Calif.; Mrs. Viola Mason of Cornwall, Pa.; brother of Mrs. Ruth Anderson of Cornwall, Pa.; Mrs. Lela Hall of Tacoma, Wash.; Chester R. Mason of Seattle, Wash.; Thomas Mason of Hollywood, Calif. He was pastor of the Newport Memorial Methodist church and belonged to the Kiwanis club of Newport. Funeral Wed., March 10, at 11 a.m. in the ALWIN CHAPEL of the HAZEN & JAEGER FUNERAL HOME, N1306 Monroe st., Rev. Richard D. Decker officiating assisted by Rev. E. J. Aschenbrenner and Rev. Charles Creesy. Burial services in The Pines cemetery, Opportunity. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial gifts be given to the American Heart Association c/o HAZEN & JAEGER FUNERAL HOME, N1306 Monroe st.

The San Diego Union, San Diego, San Diego Co., CA, Thursday, November 17, 1955

Services for James Edward Mason, 94, of Bonita, widely known horse trainer and riding instructor who died Monday in a Paradise Valley rest home, will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Humphrey-Heath Mortuary. San Diego Elks Lodge will be in charge. Burial will be in Glen Abbey Cemetery. Mason lived at 23 Cottage Row, Bonita. He had been a resident of San Diego County more than 30 years and came here from Santa Barbara. He held scores of trophies which he had accumulated for training and showing horses. Born in Wisconsin, Mason went to Wyoming in 1886 and later moved to Spokane, Wash., where he operated stables for several years. He trained saddle horses and riders from Washington to California and was especially known for training juvenile riders. Mason was with the Balboa Stables when he first came to San Diego. In 1932 he went to Bonita, where he reorganized the Bonita Riding Stables. Mason, who was known to his friends and former pupils as "J. E.," broke in horses until he was 84, when he retired. He is survived by his widow, Maude; two sons, Thomas of Hollywood and J. E. of Seattle, and two daughters, Mrs. Arvid Anderson of Pennsylvania and Mrs. Eugene Hall of Tacoma, Wash.

The San Diego Union, San Diego, San Diego Co., CA, Thursday, November 17, 1955

Deaths - Funerals

MASON - JAMES EDWARD. Husband of Maude. Father of Thomas, James, Mrs. Arvid Anderson and Mrs. Eugene Hall. Services Humphrey-Heath Mortuary Fri. 2 p.m. under auspices BPO Elks. Interment.

 

Viola Genoa (Blake) Mason Death Certificate.

The Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, Lancaster Co., PA, Saturday, October 13, 1956

Mrs. Viola G. Mason, 95, Passes Away

Mrs. Viola G. Mason, 95, of 104 Wilson St., Cleona, died at the Pleasant View Rest Home at Manheim today. Daughter of the late Simon S. and Mary M. (Ambrose) Blake, she belonged to Centenary Methodist Church in Lebanon. She leaves the following sons and daughters: Mrs. E. N. Hall, Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs. Arvid Anderson, Cleona; C. A. Mason, Seattle, Wash.; Thomas Mason, Hollywood, Calif. Also surviving are 17 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great-grandchildren; and a sister, Mrs. Pearl B. Lawton, Richland Center, Wisc.

The San Diego Union, San Diego, San Diego Co., CA, Tuesday, July 8, 1958

Deaths - Funerals

MASON - Florence Maude. Services Wed, 11 a.m. Humphrey Chula Vista Mortuary.

History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin - Union Publishing Company - Springfield, IL - 1884

Rev. Thomas Mason, (deceased) one of the pioneer preachers of Richland county, was born in Pennsylvania in 1818. He commenced preaching in Richland Co., Ill., and was married there in 1847 to Almira Bradshaw, a native of Wayne Co., Ill. He continued preaching in Illinois until 1855, when he came to Richland Co., Wis., and settled on section 30, of town 12, range 1 east, in the present town of Henrietta. He immediately joined the Northwestern Conference, and was appointed to the West Branch circuit. In 1857 he went to Salem, La Crosse county, and preached one year, then to Mendota, where he remained two years, then to Augusta, in Eau Claire county remaining there two years, next to Galesville in Trempealeau county. He then enlisted as private in the 14th Wisconsin, company D, and went to the front. He was killed at the battle of Corinth. He had been appointed chaplain of his regiment, but had not taken the position at the time of his death. He left a wife and six children to mourn his loss. The children are --- Shadrach, Elijah, Sarah, Mahala, Maggie and James E. The two eldest sons, Shadrach and Elijah, were in the same regiment and company with their father. Shadrach was severely wounded in the same battle in which his father was killed. He was discharged on account of disability, and returned home. He soon re-enlisted and died in the service. Elijah served till the close of the war, and is now living in Illinois. Mrs. Mason is now the wife of Henry T. Walser, a resident of Woodstock.

James Edward, son of Thomas and Almira (Bradshaw) Mason, was born in the town of Henrietta, Feb. 28, 1861. He attended the district school, and later, the seminary at Elroy, and the high school at Sextonville. At the age of twelve he entered the employ of William Bradshaw as clerk. He continued in the same employment, excepting the time spent in school, until 1881, when he purchased the stock and good will of William Bradshaw and has since been engaged in trade. He keeps a good stock of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, glass ware and crockery, notions, etc. He was married in 1881 to Viola, daughter of Simon S. and Mary (Ambrose) Blake, who was born in the town of Orion. They have three children --- Ray and Roy, twins, and Chester.

History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin - Union Publishing Company - Springfield, IL - 1884

Henry T. Walser, proprietor of the Walser mill, is a native of a southern State, having been born in Rowan Co., NC, in April, 1822. He was eight years of age when his parents moved to Illinois and settled in Edwards county where they were pioneers. His father purchased timber land, cleared a farm and lived there until the time of his death. It was here that the subject of this sketch grew to manhood. When he was seventeen years old, his father built a saw-mill, in which he was employed five years. He then purchased the mill, and built a flour-mill, which he operated in connection with the saw-mill for six years. At the end of that time, he sold out and engaged in mercantile business. Three years later he sold the store, and built another mill in Edwards county, which he operated until 1866, when he came to Richland county and located at Woodstock and engaged again in mercantile business, which he continued until 1869. He then sold out and built the mill which he now operates. He has been twice married --- first in 1844, to Patsy Doty, a native of Indiana. They had nine children, six of whom are now living --- Martin, Rebecca, Solomon, Harriet, Lori and Hiram. Mrs. Walser died in 1866. Mr. Walser's second wife was Almira Bradshaw, widow of Rev. Thomas Mason. One child blessed this union, but died in infancy.

His son, Hiram H. Walser, was born in Edwards Co., Ill., in October, 1860. He came to Woodstock with his parents and received his early education in the district school. At the age of sixteen he went to work in his father's mill. He has continued in the same business ever since, and now has charge of the mill. He was married in 1881 to Eva Simmons, a native Green Co., Wis. They have one child --- Lewie. Mr. Walser is town clerk, elected in April, 1883.