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{{for|other people called John Thomson Mason|John Thomson Mason (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox person
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'''John Thomson Mason''' (January 8, 1787 – April 17, 1850)<ref name=GH>{{cite web | url=http://gunstonhall.com/masonweb/p7.htm#i351 | title=John Thomson Mason | access-date=March 7, 2009
==Early life and education==
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==Land agent and revolutionary==
Afterwards, Mason resided principally in [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=QTSHA/> In 1830, Mason became a scripholder for the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in New York.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> The land company's purpose was to assume the land holdings of [[List of Texas empresarios|Texas empresarios]] [[Lorenzo de Zavala]], [[David G. Burnet]], and Joseph Vehlein which comprised approximately {{convert|20|e6acre|km2}}.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> Mason became a confidential land agent for the land company in 1831.<ref name=QTSHA/> While in [[Mexico City]] on the land company's behalf, Mason discovered that the Law of April 6, 1830, prevented the transfer of Mexican land to foreign companies.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> On a subsequent trip to Mexico City in 1833, Mason was able to secure a repeal of the law's stipulation that forbade colonization in Mexico from the United States.<ref name=TSHA/> Once he accomplished this, Mason resigned from the land company to promote his personal Texas landholdings.<ref name=TSHA/> Mason continued to expand his landholdings by purchasing 300 leagues from the Mexican government and 100 leagues from individual landholders.<ref name=TSHA/> To manage his land holdings, Mason employed [[John Charles Leplicher]] in [[New York City]] as his land office clerk and Archibald Hotchkiss as his attorney.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/>
Mason's prosperous land business was soon compromised when his large land grants were cancelled by the [[Texas Revolution#Provisional government|Provisional government of Texas]].<ref name=TSHA/> The revolutionary government repudiated the sales of land made in 1834 by the Mexican state of [[Coahuila y Tejas]], going so far as to name Mason's contract as annulled by them in the [[Constitution of the Republic of Texas|First Texan Constitution]].<ref name=QTSHA/> His attorney Leplicher then filed suit against Mason in [[Nacogdoches, Texas|Nacogdoches]] on February 16, 1835, for alleged unpaid salary.<ref name=TSHA/> Mason was made commandant of the Nacogdoches District by the Committee of Vigilance and Safety on April 11, 1836, only to resign twelve days later. Mason remained in Nacogdoches for most of the duration of the Texas Revolution.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> Mason continued to support the Texas Revolution by paying $1,000 for the [[schooner]] ''[[Texan schooner Liberty|Liberty]]'' for the [[Texas Navy]]<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> and advancing $500 for the expenses of the schooner ''[[Texan schooner Brutus|Brutus]]''.<ref name=TSHA/><ref name=QTSHA/> On March 2, 1836, the [[Republic of Texas]] declared its independence and organized a government.<ref name=QTSHA/> The following year, Mason attended a session of [[Congress of the Republic of Texas]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], the capital of Texas.<ref name=QTSHA/>
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