Stephen Lawson’s website632 provides the following details on Hugh Mason: “Hugh MASON, tanner, age 28, and his wife Hester, age 22, departed Ipswich, England April 1634 in the ship 'Francis'. No details have been discovered concerning his parents. He was admitted freeman Mar. 4, 1635 at Watertown, and held many positions of responsibility throughout his life. Governor John Endicott commissioned him Captain Apr. 5, 1653, and he commanded a company during the colonial wars. History of Sudbury 1638-1889, by Alfred Sereno Hudson (1889): ‘In 1678, in the early part of King Philip’s war, the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts was attacked by a band of about two hundred Indians. Capt. Hugh Mason, a bold and gallant Commander marched with his men from Watertwon, Mass. to the relief of Sudbury. Arriving there, the people of Sudbury assisted by the Watertown reinforcement compelled the Indians to make a general retreat. Capt. Mason was of a committee of four appointed to provide for the defence of the frontier towns of Middlesex County. At the time of the fight, Capt. Mason was over seventy years of age.’ The will of Capt. MASON was written ‘3 day 12 month, 1677’ and subsequently amended on Mar. 8, 1677/8. The inventory of his estate taken Oct. 28, 1678, and of his debts Mar. 29, 1679. Both inventories indicate he was a man of moderate means and an active merchant in his trade as tanner. Married Jan. 13, 1632, St. Peter's Parish, Maldon, Co. Essex, England.”

Thompson’s study633 of mobility in the Great Migration notes that “Hugh Mason was a tanner. He emigrated in the Francis from Ipswich in 1634 and settled in Watertown. Two years before, he had married Esther Welles, daughter of Thomas, glover, at St. Peter’s Church in Maldon, Essex. This is the first record of a Mason in Maldon, though Welleses had thrived there as leatherworkers since 1404. The Mason family was concentrated in villages on the north shore of the Thames Estuary like Barking, Corringham, and Runwell. It seems probable that Hugh may be an example of the young craftsman who improved his prospects by allying with a leading artisanal family, much like the apprentices of popular legend.”

Data on Hugh Mason’s children to be entered from Lawson’s website.