Note

Note: Notes for FRANCES NORGRAVES MASON:

Frances was originally thought to be the window of Col. George Mason. However, that has been disproven.

Submitter: Edwin Powell

Subject: William Wentworth Matheny's Wife

Message: Over the years, Matheny/Metheny/Matheny researchers have perpetuated the myth that William Wentworth Matheny, son of Daniel and Sarah Mathena of Hope Plantation, Stafford County, VA was married to Frances Norgrave Mason the widow of Colonel George Mason, the ancestor of George Mason of Gunston Hall, the framer of the Virginia Bill of Rights and friend of George Washington. This error needs to be corrected. William was indeed married to a Frances Mason who had a son William Mason as both are mentioned in his Last Will and Testament. Frances was even the executrix of William Matheny's will but she was never married to Colonel George Mason nor to Captain John Norgrave as has been so often reported. Frances Norgrave Mason was dead by the time William executed his will and besides, she was already married to Dr. Edward Maddocks a Stafford County magistrate at the time she was supposedly married to William. This is well documented in Stafford County records which I located during my research into this matter. It was also discovered in the 1940s by a researcher for William Blake Metheny who did the seminal research into the family history.

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Who Was Frances Mason Matheny?

by: Edwin E. Powell

Woodbridge, VA, Oct 10, 1992.

When I started to research my mother's Metheny line, I was initially intrigued by information from another family researcher's efforts which seemed to indicate that our family might be related to George Mason, the Virginia patriot and friend of George Washington. In the typed genealogical research notes that my relative sent to me, she noted in a paragraph devoted to William Wentworth Matheny, the son of Daniel Mathena of Hope Plantation, Stafford, VA that, "William married Mrs. Frances Norgrave Mason (the widow of the first Colonel George Mason)."(1)

If true, this was exciting news! The name, "George Mason" is well respected in the section of Virginia where I live. His estate, Gunston Hall is only a few miles North on the Richmond Highway (US Highway 1) from my current home in Woodbridge, VA. In addition, my wife obtained her undergraduate degree from George Mason University, a well-respected state school in Fairfax, VA. Up to that point, that was about all I knew about George Mason, but it was enough to inspire me to conduct some research to see if by some stroke of fortune, he was one of my ancestors. After all, it would be nice to claim kinship to someone who has a major university named after him.

My first step, as a trained investigator, was to look for the original source of the information. If indeed the information was true, I needed to be able to cite a reliable original source document. My relative's notes seemed to indicate she had gleaned this information from the work of W.B. Metheny, so I tried to locate his research. I succeeded in finding a reference to Genealogical Notes Concerning the Matheny-Metheny Family of Virginia, 1955, W. Blake Metheny in the Prince William County Library but was unable to find the document on file there. The librarian said the document was located in the Virginia State Library at Richmond, VA. I attempted to have the document transferred to our local library but was not successful.

Since I could not obtain the W. Blake Metheny research, I decided to do what research I could through our library. I also knew from a discussion that I had had with my relative, Mrs. Lloyd Metheny of Morganton, GA that considerable information about our family was available in the Stafford County Court records. The only problem was that the county clerk's office was only open on week days until 4:30 PM and I could not get to the court without taking time off from my job with the U.S. Government. I would have to do my research in the evenings at the local library. Luckily, I stumbled upon a compilation of Stafford County Court extracts by Ruth and Sam Sparacio.(2) Included was an extract of the will of William Wentworth Matheny in which he made reference to, "WM Mason, my wifes son" and later, to "my loving wife Frances."(3) Using the references in the Sparacio extracts, I first searched the microfilmed records of Stafford County Court on file in the Prince William County Library and later reviewed the actual records on file at the Stafford County Court House. I made photocopies of the microfilm records and then photographed the actual will in the deed book using my Minolta 35mm camera. I also transcribed the will in total from the deed book. A copy of the transcription is included in this edition of the HOPE.

It was clear, based upon the information contained in the will, that William Wentworth Matheny was married to a woman whose name was "Frances." Also, Frances had a son named "William Mason," presumably from a previous marriage. Next, I went to the Family History Library of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) in Dale City, VA. As I reviewed the microfilm and computer files of this library, it was obvious to me that many Matheny-Metheny descendants who submitted family group sheets to the LDS's Salt Lake City records repository believed that William was indeed married to Mrs. Frances Norgrave Mason. Nearly all of the records I reviewed reflected that she was William's wife and the mother of his children.

Not satisfied, I intensified my search at the Prince William County Library focusing on this intriguing problem. Again, the extracts of the Stafford County records compiled by the Sparacios proved invaluable in assisting me to locate the microfilm records relating to Frances Norgrave Mason. A review of these records revealed Frances Norgrave Mason was, indeed, the widow of the first Colonel George Mason, the great, great grandfather of the Virginia Constitution (author's note: actually the Virginia Bill of Rights which was used as the model for the United States Bill of Rights).(4) Prior to marrying Colonel Mason, she had been married to the late Captain John Norgrave. This is clearly illustrated by the quote which I transcribed from the Stafford County Court Record Book for 1664-1668, 1689-1693, concerning a court held on March 10, 1689/90. Presiding justices at that court were Colonel William Fitzhugh, Captain George Mason (the son of Colonel Mason), Mr. Samuel Hayward and Mr. William Buckner.(5) Page 19 of that book contains this record: "Mason to be summoned. Ordered by this Court that the sheriff Summons Mrs Frances Mason the widow and Relict of Col George Mason late of this County Deced. to answer to the Complaint of Sampson Darrell who intermarried Margaret the only surviving child of Capt John Norgrave Deced."(6)

Further research revealed Captain John Norgrave's will was dated October 28, 1664 and in this will he left property to his widow Frances.(7) This meant that if William Wentworth Matheny was born circa 1666 as has been reported by various sources, he was born two years after Frances' first husband executed his will. This would seem to indicate that Frances Norgrave Mason was many years older than William and was, in fact, of a different generation. She was, it seemed about the age of his parents.

In addition, a court record, which I transcribed from the original reflects that on November 12, 1690 when this court met, Frances was already married to Doctor Edward Maddocks, one of the Stafford County justices. This record is quoted as follows: "At a Court held for the County of Stafford at the house of Thomas Elsey November the 12th 1690 Present Coll William Fitzhugh, Mr. Samuel Hayward, Capt George Mason, Mr. John Withers, Mr Edward Thomason Justices Mr. William Buckner and Mr Matthew Thompson. Ordered that Doctor Edward Maddocks who intermarried with Frances the Widow and relict of Coll George Mason late of this County Deced and who was formerly the Widow and Executrix of Capt John Norgrave late of this County also Deced shall be by the Sherif Summoned to the next Court to give Security Touching the Estate of the said Capt John Norgrave Deced Pursuant to an order of the Last General Court and that he bring good Security for the True and Faithful performance of the said Will of the afores Capt John Norgrave Deced."(8)

Then I came across evidence in another record that by September 13, 1693, Frances was deceased.(9) This meant she could NOT be the same Frances mentioned in William's will dated November 12, 1705 as his wife and "whole and sole Extrx of this my last will & Testament."(10)

This also seemed to resolve the question raised concerning William Mason, Frances Mason Matheny's son. Stafford County Court records clearly state that Colonel George Mason had only one son and his name was also George.(11) Thus, unless William Mason was illegitimate and not claimed by Colonel Mason, he could not have been the son of Frances Norgrave Mason.

This returns us to the question raised by the title of this article, "Who Was Frances Mason Matheny?" It is possible some researcher out there has uncovered the answer to this question. However, since I am still relatively (no pun intended) new to genealogy and to researching the Matheny-Metheny line, I am not aware of any such find. If someone does have the answer, hopefully this will inspire them to share this information with the other Matheny-Metheny researchers.

What my research has indicated is that the Masons who eventually sired the George Mason of Gunston Hall were not the only Masons living in the Stafford County area during this early period of our nation's history. George Harrison Sanford King in his book entitled: The Register of Overwharton Parish Stafford County Virginia 1723-1758 and Sundry Historical and Genealogical Notes, lists several Masons on pages 74 and 75, including two Frances Masons. Neither of these appears to be the Frances Mason Matheny of our interest since one was married on January 8, 1747 and the other was born on January 16, 1757.(12) King also reports the existence of another George Mason who was a contemporary of the first Colonel George Mason's son. According to King this George Mason who acquired property on the Aquia Creek in Overwharton Parish is reported in the records as "George Mason of Aquia."(13) King says, "He seems to have been the ancestor of the majority of the Masons mentioned in the Register of Overwharton Parish."(14) It is quite possible that our Frances Mason was related to this line of Masons but since I have found no records to substantiate this possibility, it must remain in the category of speculation.

Hopefully, it has been established through documentary evidence cited in this article that the Frances who married William Wentworth Matheny was not Frances Norgrave Mason Maddocks. Unfortunately, if true, this means that no Matheny-Metheny descendants will succeed in laying claim to Gunston Hall or to the genes of the man who wrote the Virginia Bill of Rights. Still we can brag that our ancestor was the neighbor of his great grandfather. In fact, another record which I transcribed from the Stafford County Record Book for 1664-1668, 1689-1693 reveals that William Wentworth Matheny was sworn in as Stafford County Constable on March 11, 1690 by Captain George Mason, one of the Justices. This record on page 125 reads as follows: "At a Court held for the County of Stafford at the house of Thomas Elsey March the 11th 1690 Present Coll William Fitzhugh Mr Samuel Hayward, Capt George Mason, Mr John Withers, Mr Edward Thomason, Justices. Whereas John Higgison made humble Suit to this Court that he had faithfully Served in the office and place of a Constable for the precincts of Potomac Creek one whole year and did therefore pray that William Matheny may be Chosen in his Room and place. Therefore tis ordered that the said William Matheny shall Serve in the Room and Stead of the said John Higgison for the precinct of Potomac Creek as aforesaid until March Court next [] and that Capt George Mason Swear him accordingly."(15)

From my reading about Colonial Virginia history, it seems that the office of Constable was not an elected position. Rather, all male citizens of good standing in the community might be called upon to fill it for a specific period of service much like jury duty today. It seems the tour length for some one called upon to fill the office of Constable in Stafford County was about one year.

Author's comment: Since the question of Who is Frances Mason Matheny has still not been answered and many people continue to wrongly associate Frances Norgrave Mason with William Wentworth Matheny, I have provided the above article which I originally wrote on October 10, 1992 and published in Volume 1 Issue 2 of the Hope, The Matheny-Metheny Newsletter, in December 21, 1992 (the last issue I ever published). I hope it will help correct some mistaken research. Since I first wrote the article, I have obtained W.B. Metheny's research and I found that he was provided this same information on 2 Jul 1945 in a letter from Major John Bailey Nicklin, III, Danville Hall #125, Oakridge, TN. The letter was addressed to Captain W. Blake Metheny, JAGD, HQ Fifth Air Force, APO 710,%P.M. San Francisco, CA. This is on page 64 of the copy of WBM's work that I have in my files. Major Nicklin apparently did some research for W. Blake Metheny while both were in service. In his letter, Major Nicklin states: " Frances, widow of Capt. John Norgrave later married Col. George Mason and then Dr. Edward Maddocks whose wife she was last and on 12 Sep 1693 the records state that 'Frances Maddocks is now dead.' So she could not have been your Frances who married Matheny. She married (1) Capt. John Norgrave (d.1669), (2) Col. George Mason (d. 1656) and (3) Dr. Edward Maddocks who survived her. NOW William Matheny also married a widow Frances Mason so she must have been the widow of William Mason who was deceased in 1690, leaving a minor daughter Barbara."(16) I know many of the records of the LDS Family History Library are wrong and I find that William has also been "sealed" in eternal marriage to Frances Norgrave Mason, which will probably be a shock to both of them at the time of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when the dead in Christ shall be raised. Captain John Norgrave, Colonel George Mason and Dr. Edward Maddocks might also be somewhat surprised as well. Of course, if we believe what Christ said in Mark 12:25, it won't make any difference what these earthly records say.

REFERENCES

(1) Metheny, Margaret, Unpublished Genealogical Research Notes, undated mailed to Louise Metheny Powell, 1990, page 2

(2) Sparacio, Ruth and Sam, Virginia County Court Records, Deed and Will Abstracts of Stafford County, Virginia 1699-1709, edited and published by Sam and Ruth Sparacio, 1320 Mayflower Drive, McLean, VA 22101-3402, 1987.

(3) Sparacio, supra, page 108

(4) Official Records, Microfilm, County Record (Order) Book (1664-1668, 1689-1693), Stafford County Court, Stafford Court House, VA page 19

(5) Microfilm, supra, page 10

(6) Microfilm, supra, page 19

(7) Official Records, County Record (Order) Book (1664-1668, 1689-1693), Stafford County Court, Stafford, VA, page 376

(8) Official Records, County Records (Order) Book (1664-1668, 16899-1693), Stafford County Court, Stafford, VA, page 105

(9) Official Records, supra, pages 374 and 376

(10) Official Records, Stafford County Deed and Will Book (1699-1709), Stafford County Court, Stafford, VA, pages 302-303

(11) Official Records, Microfilm, Stafford County Deed and Will Book (1689-1693) Stafford County Court, Stafford, VA (statement of Frances Maddocks wife of Dr. Edward Maddocks), page 209.

(12) King, George Harrison Sanford, The Register of Overwharton Parish Stafford County, Virginia 1723-1758 and Sundry Historical and Genealogical Notes, Southern Historical Press Inc., P.O. Box 738, Easley, South Carolina 29641-0738, pages 74 and 75.

(13) King, supra, page 75 footnote

(14) King, supra, page 75 footnote

(15) Official Records, (Order) Book, (1664-1668,1689-1693) Stafford County Court, Stafford, VA, page 125

(16) Metheny, W. Blake, Esq., Genealogical Notes Concerning the Matheny-Metheny Family of Virginia, 1518 Lincoln Liberty Building, Philadelphia, PA, page 64.

Marriage

Husband: @I429@

Wife: Frances Mason

Child: @I389@

Marriage:

Date: 1691

Place: Overwharton Parish, Old Stafford County, Virginia^[2][3]

Sources

1. ↑ Mason-5244 was created by Paula Hinkel through the import of kaitlynancestors.ged on Sep 12, 2014. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Source: #S255 Page: Birth year: 1666; Birth city: Charles Co; Birth state: MD TMPLT FIELD Name: Page VALUE Birth year: 1666; Birth city: Charles Co; Birth state: MD
3. ↑ Source: #S255 Page: Birth year: 1666; Birth city: Charles Co; Birth state: MD TMPLT FIELD Name: Page VALUE Birth year: 1666; Birth city: Charles Co; Birth state: MD