Mason was born on April 18, 1799, in Hicksford (now Emporia) in Greensville County, Virginia.

[4] Mason was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat from Virginia's 2nd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 22nd, 23rd and 24th United States Congresses and served from March 4, 1831, until his resignation January 11, 1837.

[1] Mason was nominated by President Martin Van Buren on February 26, 1841, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Judge Peter Vivian Daniel.

[3] Mason married Mary Ann Fort, the daughter of a prominent land-owner, in 1821 and became a planter himself, as well as continuing as a lawyer.

[1] His remains were conveyed to the United States and interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.