Moses Mason

Moses Mason Jr. (1789–1866) was a U.S. Representative from Maine and a prominent physician and local official in Oxford County during the first half of the nineteenth century. He was born in 1789 in Dublin, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, where he spent his early childhood before his family relocated at the close of the century. In 1799 he moved with his parents to Bethel, in what was then the District of Maine, a part of Massachusetts. Growing up in this frontier community, he attended the common schools, receiving the basic education typical of rural New England at the time.

After his early schooling, Mason pursued the study of medicine, a profession that in that era commonly combined apprenticeship with more formal instruction. By 1813 he had completed his medical training and commenced practice in Bethel, establishing himself as a physician in the town where he would reside for the rest of his life. His medical practice placed him at the center of community life in a sparsely settled region, and he soon became involved in a wide range of civic responsibilities in addition to his professional work.

Mason’s public career began with federal service at the local level. On April 1, 1815, he was appointed the first postmaster of Bethel, reflecting both the town’s growing importance and his standing among its residents. He held this position for more than eighteen years, serving until December 27, 1833. In this capacity he oversaw the establishment and operation of the local postal service during a period of expanding communication and commerce in rural Maine. Concurrently, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1821, an office he held continuously until 1866, exercising judicial and administrative functions in local matters for nearly forty-five years. He also served as a county commissioner for Oxford County from 1831 to 1834, participating in the oversight of county affairs, including infrastructure and local governance.

Building on his local prominence, Mason entered national politics as a supporter of President Andrew Jackson. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Maine from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1837. His tenure in Congress coincided with major national debates over banking, internal improvements, and the role of the federal government, during a period when the Jacksonian Democratic movement was reshaping American political life. Representing a largely rural constituency, he brought to the House of Representatives the perspective of a frontier physician and local official from western Maine.

After leaving Congress, Mason returned to Bethel and resumed his medical practice while continuing to play a significant role in state and local government. He served as an executive councilor of Maine from 1843 to 1845, sitting on the Governor’s Council, which advised the governor and shared in certain executive responsibilities. In 1844 he was appointed a trustee of the state insane hospital, reflecting the growing mid-nineteenth-century concern with institutional care for the mentally ill and the involvement of leading citizens in the governance of such facilities. At the municipal level, he was a selectman of Bethel for fourteen years, helping to manage town finances, roads, schools, and other local matters over an extended period.

Mason also contributed to education in his community. From 1854 to 1856 he served as president of Gould Academy in Bethel, an important regional educational institution founded in the early nineteenth century. In this role he was involved in the oversight and promotion of secondary education at a time when academies played a central part in preparing young men and women for teaching, commerce, and further study. His leadership at Gould Academy complemented his long record of civic engagement and underscored his commitment to the intellectual and social development of the town.

Moses Mason Jr. remained in Bethel for the entirety of his adult life, continuing his various public and professional activities well into his later years. He held the office of Justice of the Peace until his death, maintaining a continuous presence in local judicial affairs from 1821 to 1866. He died in Bethel, Maine, on June 25, 1866, and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, leaving a legacy as a physician, local and state official, and two-term member of the United States House of Representatives who helped shape the civic and political life of his community and state during a formative period in Maine’s history.