View source for Stevens T. Mason

{{short description|First governor of Michigan}}
{{About|the governor of Michigan| his grandfather, the U.S. senator from Virginia|Stevens Thomson Mason (senator)}}
{{Redirect2|The Boy Governor|Boy Governor|the Arkansas governor who later became President of the United States|Bill Clinton}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name= Stevens T. Mason
|order= 1st [[Governor of Michigan]]
|image= File:Thomas Mickell Burnham - Stevens Thomson Mason - 57.268 - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg
|caption=
|lieutenant= [[Edward Mundy]]
|predecessor= [[John S. Horner]] <br/><small>[[Michigan Territory|as Territorial Governor]]</small>
|successor= [[William Woodbridge]]
|order2 = Acting Governor of the [[Territory of Michigan]]
|term2 = July 6, 1834 – September 19, 1835
|predecessor2 = [[George B. Porter]]<br>{{small|Territorial Governor}}
|succeeded2 = [[John S. Horner]]<br>{{small|Territorial Governor}}
|party=[[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]]
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1811|10|27}}
|birth_place= [[Leesburg, Virginia]]
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1843|1|4|1811|10|27}}
|death_place= New York City, New York
|spouse= Julia Phelps
|children=3
|nickname = The Boy Governor
|term_start= November 3, 1835
|term_end= January 7, 1840
|signature = Signature of Stevens Thomson Mason (1811–1843).png
}}

'''Stevens Thomson Mason''' (October 27, 1811&nbsp;– January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first [[governor of Michigan]] from 1835 to 1840.<ref name="GH">{{cite web |url=http://www.gunstonhall.org/library/masonweb/p22.htm#i1098 |title=Stevens Thomson Mason |access-date=March 8, 2009 |publisher=Gunston Hall |first=Michele |last=Lee |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525053137/http://www.gunstonhall.org/library/masonweb/p22.htm#i1098 |archive-date=May 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="PG">{{cite web |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/families/10855.html |title=Mason Family of Virginia |date=June 16, 2008 |access-date=March 8, 2009 |website=The Political Graveyard}}</ref> Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's acting territorial secretary by [[Andrew Jackson]] at age 19, becoming the acting territorial governor soon thereafter in 1834 at age 22. As territorial governor, Mason was instrumental in guiding Michigan to statehood, which was secured in 1837. A member of the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]], he was elected as Michigan's first state governor in 1835, where he served until 1840. Elected at 23 and taking office at 24, Mason was and remains the youngest [[Governor (United States)|state governor]] in American history.

==Early life in Virginia and Kentucky==
Mason was born near [[Leesburg, Virginia|Leesburg]] in [[Loudoun County, Virginia]], into a politically powerful family.<ref name=GH/><ref name=PG/> His great-grandfather, [[Thomson Mason]] (1733–1785), was chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and younger brother of [[George Mason]] (1725–1792), who took part in the [[Philadelphia Convention|Constitutional Convention]].<ref name=GH/><ref name=PG/> His grandfather, [[Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)|Stevens Thomson Mason]] (1760–1803), was a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from Virginia from 1794 until his death. His uncle, [[Armistead Thomson Mason]] (1787–1819), was also a U.S. Senator from Virginia.<ref name=GH/><ref name=PG/> In addition, his uncles by marriage, [[Benjamin Howard (Missouri politician)|Benjamin Howard]] (1760–1814) and [[William T. Barry|William Taylor Barry]] (1784–1835), both served in the Kentucky [[Kentucky General Assembly|House of Representatives]] and were [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representatives]] from Kentucky.<ref name=GH/><ref name=PG/> Howard was also Governor of the [[Louisiana Territory|Louisiana (Missouri) Territory]] (1810–1812) and the [[Missouri Territory]] (1812–1813). Barry served as a U.S. Senator from Kentucky (1814–1816), then had a long career in a number of Kentucky government positions, and ultimately became [[United States Postmaster General|U.S. Postmaster General]] (1829–1835).

In 1812, Mason's father, [[John Thomson Mason (1787–1850)|John Thomson Mason]] (1787–1850), left the Mason family stronghold in Virginia to attempt to make his own fortune in [[Lexington, Kentucky]]. In 1817, President [[James Monroe]] appointed the elder Mason [[United States Marshals Service|United States marshal]].<ref name=QTSHA/> While his business ventures were a complete failure and the family became nearly broke in the 1820s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-52864--,00.html |first=Patricia J. |last=Baker |title=Stevens Thomson Mason |date=August 2, 2010 |access-date=April 18, 2011 |website=Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries |archive-date=July 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728010145/https://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-52864--,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> he was a lawyer and [[land agent]] from an influential family, and went on to become an important figure in the [[Texas Revolution]].<ref name=QTSHA>{{cite magazine |title=General John Thompson Mason |last=Rowland |first=Kate Mason |date=January 11, 1908 |magazine=Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association |volume=11 |issue=3 |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/publications/journals/shq/online/v011/n3/article_1.html}}</ref>

==Life and politics in Michigan Territory==
John Mason was appointed secretary of the Michigan Territory and superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President [[Andrew Jackson]]. Young Stevens was more politically savvy than his father and helped to protect him from schemes launched by anti-Jackson forces. This gained him notice from the territorial governor, [[Lewis Cass]]. In 1831, President Jackson sent the elder Mason on a mission to Mexico and named Stevens to replace his father as secretary, at the age of 19 before he could even vote. At about the same time, Governor Cass became Jackson's [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. As the territorial secretary traditionally served as acting governor, young Mason held that role until [[George Bryan Porter]], who was named to replace Cass in August 1831, arrived in Detroit in 1832. As it turned out, Porter was frequently absent and Mason was, for all practical purposes, the acting governor during this time, leading to his nickname of the "Boy Governor". Porter died of cholera in Detroit in 1834, and so Mason was once again acting governor of the Michigan Territory.

Mason was influential in petitioning for Michigan statehood. When the first petition in 1832 was not acted upon by the U.S. Congress, Mason commissioned a territorial census. When the census was completed in 1834, it determined that 85,856 people lived in the lower peninsula, more than the 60,000 required for statehood by the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1787.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Census of the Peninsula of Michigan |journal=The Territorial Papers of the United States |volume=12 |year=1934 |pages=1018–23 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015014548195?urlappend=%3Bseq=1032 |editor-first=Clarence E. |editor-last=Carter |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington D.C.|hdl=2027/mdp.39015014548195?urlappend=%3Bseq=1032 }}</ref> A dispute over a strip of land, the Toledo Strip, claimed by both Michigan and [[Ohio]] led to the [[Toledo War]]. President Jackson appointed [[Benjamin Chew Howard]] of [[Baltimore]] and [[Richard Rush]] of [[Philadelphia]] to arbitrate the dispute, but Mason was not satisfied with the proposal and refused to back down. Not wanting to alienate his political support in Ohio, President Jackson removed Mason as territorial secretary in August 1835 and appointed [[John S. Horner|John S. ("Little Jack") Horner]] as his replacement.

==First governor of the state of Michigan==
{{See also|History of railroads in Michigan#The state fiasco}}
[[File:FARMER(1884) p164 ELECTION SCENE - FIRST STATE ELECTION.jpg|thumb|This 1837 Whig cartoon charges Mason with vote-buying, while promising a modest provision by the Whigs to the poor in the event of victory by Charles C. Trowbridge - mentioned in a sign near the middle of the page.]]
Although replaced by Horner, Mason was still popular in Michigan. Voters approved a constitution on October 5, 1835, and they elected Mason as governor. However, the U.S. Congress refused to recognize Michigan as a state until the dispute with Ohio was resolved.

In 1836, facing financial difficulties because Michigan was not recognized as a state, Mason agreed to a compromise reached by the U.S. Congress and agreed to cede the disputed land to Ohio in exchange for the western two-thirds of the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]]; Michigan already included the eastern third. A convention in September 1836 refused to go along with Mason, but Mason finally prevailed in a second convention in December 1836. On January 26, 1837, Michigan was admitted to the Union.

In 1835, Mason had initiated an ambitious [[internal improvements]] program, which included development of three railroads and two canals (one of which was the [[Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal]]). Mason was re-elected in 1837, but the state's economy soon began to suffer from the effects of the [[Panic of 1837]]. Earlier in 1837, Mason had negotiated to fund the internal improvements program through the sale of $5,000,000 (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|5000000|1837}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) in bonds. This arrangement fell apart in 1837 and following bankruptcies by both the company building the canal and the bank backing the loans, the state was left with over $2,000,000 (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|2000000|1837}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) in bad debt. During his business trips to New York to finance his internal improvements program, Mason became acquainted with Julia Phelps and the two married on November 1, 1838.

In early 1838, Mason led the state militia in helping to thwart the [[Patriot War]], an attempt by irregulars to invade and annex parts of Canada. The schooner ''Ann'' was seized by the Patriots on January 8 and sailed down to [[Gibraltar, Michigan]]. Mason, along with a detachment of 200 militiamen, pursued them in two steamships. A hundred Canadian militia also followed in the steamer ''Alliance''. Mason met with the Patriot leaders at Gibraltar, but the captured steamship ''Ann'' continued on toward [[Fort Malden]] on the Canadian shore. On January 9, the Patriots began shelling Fort Malden and the town of [[Amherstburg, Ontario|Amherstburg]] from the ''Ann''. The Canadian militia took up positions in the town while the Patriots moved 300 men onto the Canadian [[Bois Blanc Island (Ontario)|Bois Blanc Island]] opposite the town. The Canadian militia opened fire on the schooner when it tried to reach the island. The Canadians shot several of the ship's crew and damaged the sails and rigging. The ship drifted until it ran aground, at which point the Canadian militia boarded it, encountered no resistance, and captured the crew. The remaining Patriot forces quit Bois Blanc for the safety of the American side of the river.<ref name="Ross">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/patriotwar00rossgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/patriotwar00rossgoog/page/n21 15] |title=The Patriot War |first=Robert B. |last=Ross |year=1890 |publisher=The Detroit Evening News and the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society}}</ref> Several of the Patriots were wounded, a few killed, and the Canadians captured 300 muskets, 2 cannon, 10 kegs of gunpowder and various accoutrements.<ref>Col. Radcliff's report to Lt. Gov. Sir George Arthur, quoted in {{harvp|Ross|1890|page=15}}.</ref> The actions of the so-called "Patriots" were charged in the U.S. as a violation of the [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Act]].

Rather than risking a contentious campaign and the possibility of an embarrassing defeat in the elections of 1839, Mason instead decided to give up politics and attempt a private law practice. His successor as governor, an old political rival, [[William Woodbridge]], was determined to place the blame for Michigan's financial mess on Mason, and charged Mason with corruption related to the $5,000,000 loan. Mason attempted to defend himself, but his reputation was ruined.

==Retirement and death in New York==
[[File:Stevens T Mason Monument.JPG|thumb|right|Renovated [[Statue of Stevens T. Mason|Stevens T. Mason Monument]] in 2011]]
In 1841, Mason left Michigan for New York City, where his wealthy father-in-law, Thaddeus Phelps, lived. Mason tried to establish a law practice there, but struggled to build a clientele. He caught [[pneumonia]] in the winter of 1842 and died at the age of 31 during the night of January 4, 1843, though his date of death is sometimes listed as January 5.

Mason was initially interred at [[New York Marble Cemetery]],<ref name=Marble>{{cite web |url=http://www.marblecemetery.org/intframes3.htm |title = List of Interments |access-date=September 6, 2009 |website=New York Marble Cemetery}}</ref> but on June 4, 1905, his remains were brought from New York to Detroit, accompanied by his sister Emily Mason, then age 92; his daughter, Dorothy Mason Wright; three grandsons; and several grand-nephews and great-grandchildren. Services were conducted by Rev. David M. Cooper, who had known Mason as governor, 70 years earlier. Other notable attendees included then-Governor [[Fred M. Warner]], and the mayor of Detroit, [[George P. Codd]]. His remains were interred at [[Capitol Park Historic District|Capitol Park]], the site of the old [[Michigan State Capitol#First state capitol|Michigan Capitol]].<ref name=Catlin>{{harvp|Catlin|2005|pp=398–399}}.</ref> Later, [[Statue of Stevens T. Mason|a bronze statue of Mason]] on a granite pedestal was erected over the grave. The statue was created by sculptor [[Albert Weinert]] and depicted the young Mason in a confident pose.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=165 |title=The Monuments of Detroit |newspaper=[[The Detroit News]] |date=September 5, 1999 |first=Pat |last=Zacharias |access-date=October 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708060651/http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=165 |archive-date=July 8, 2012}}</ref>

On September 3, 2009, officials announced that the park would be reconfigured and the monument moved several yards.<ref>{{cite news |title=Michigan History gets a polish in Capitol Park revamp |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=September 3, 2009 |first=Neil |last=Rubin |access-date=October 27, 2010 |url=http://detnews.com/article/20090903/OPINION03/909030382/Michigan-history-gets-a-polish-in-Capitol-Park-revamp}}{{dead link|date=June 2024}}</ref> But when the crews began to excavate the site, they discovered no grave. After four days of searching, the vault containing the remains was located on June 29, 2010, a few yards south of its original site. It was believed the grave was moved from its 1905 location in 1955 to make room for a bus terminal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2010/06/coffin_believed_to_hold_steven.html |title=Coffin believed to hold Stevens T. Mason, Michigan's 1st governor, found |work=MLive |date=June 30, 2010 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=June 25, 2024}}</ref>

On the 199th anniversary of his birth, October 27, 2010, Mason was reburied for the fourth time in a newly built vault in the pedestal beneath the bronze statue designed by Albert Weinert. Mason's great-great-great grandnephew, who resides in [[Grosse Ile (Michigan)|Grosse Ile, Michigan]], witnessed the reinterment. The current Dean of the [[Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit|Cathedral Church of St. Paul]], where funeral services were held for Mason in 1843, officiated at the ceremony.<ref name=Catlin/><ref name=Detnews>{{cite news |title=First Michigan governor re-interred in Detroit park |newspaper=Royal Oak Tribune |date=October 27, 2010 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 24, 2024 |url=https://www.dailytribune.com/2010/10/27/first-michigan-governor-re-interred-in-detroit-park/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Michigan's first governor reburied |url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/10/29/Michigans-first-governor-reburied/UPI-46031288384911/ |date=October 29, 2010 |work=[[United Press International]] |access-date=April 1, 2012 }}</ref> Prior to the reinterment, Mason's remains were transported to Lansing where they lay in state in the [[Michigan State Capitol|Capitol Building]]. Mason was only the third Michigan governor to lie in state in the Capitol.<ref name="mprn">{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Allen |title=Coffin of Michigan's First Governor on Display in Lansing |date=October 25, 2010 |work=[[Interlochen Public Radio]] |url=http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/10589 |access-date=January 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019092831/http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/10589 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Among his other accomplishments, Mason created an educational system and relocated the [[University of Michigan]] to [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]].

==Marriage and children==
Mason married Julia Elizabeth Phelps in New York City on November 1, 1838.<ref name=GH/><ref name=PG/> The couple had three children:<ref name=GH/>

*Stevens Thomson Mason Jr. (August 1, 1839&nbsp;– January 27, 1843)<ref name=GH/>
*Dorothea Eliza Mason Wright (October 29, 1840&nbsp;– October 4, 1916)<ref name=GH/> Known as Dora, she was the daughter-in-law of Senator [[William Wright (United States politician)|William Wright]] and wife of [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] Edward H. Wright (1824–1913), a career officer in the [[United States Army]].<ref name="Dames">{{cite book |author=Committee on Printing |date=1908 |title=Third Record Book of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Rhode Island |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2QUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PP81 |location=Providence, RI |publisher=Snow & Farnham Co. |page=385 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Dora and Edward Wright were the parents of [[William M. Wright]], a U.S. Army officer who attained the rank of [[Lieutenant general (United States)|lieutenant general]].<ref name="Dames"/>
*Thaddeus Phelps Mason (March 11, 1842–April 1847)<ref name=GH/>

[[File:Stevens T. Mason State Office Building.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Stevens T. Mason State Office Building in Lansing, Michigan]]

==Places named in Mason's honor==
* The city of [[Mason, Michigan]],<ref>{{Cite web |title = Profile for Mason Community |url = http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=21968 |publisher = epodunk.com |year = 2007 |access-date = April 18, 2011 |archive-date = June 8, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110608211742/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=21968 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="clarke">{{cite web |url=http://clarke.cmich.edu/resource_tab/bibliographies_of_clarke_library_material/michigan_local_history/county_material/mason.html |website=[[Clarke Historical Library]], [[Central Michigan University]] |title=Bibliography on Mason County |access-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref> the county seat of [[Ingham County, Michigan|Ingham County]], where the state capital, [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]], is located.
* [[Mason County, Michigan]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nI9OAAAAIBAJ&pg=7017%2C2209562 |title=Place names of county make interesting story |newspaper=[[Ludington Daily News]] |date=June 16, 1949 |access-date=October 16, 2015 |last=Surrarrer |first=G. Pearl |page=7}}</ref>
* Mason Hall at [[Michigan State University]]
* Mason Hall at the [[University of Michigan]]
* Stevens T. Mason State Office Building in [[Lansing, Michigan]]
* Mason Senior High School in [[Erie Township, Michigan]]
* Stevens T. Mason Elementary School in [[Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan]]
* Stevens T. Mason Middle School in [[Waterford Township, Michigan]]
* Mason Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan
* Mason Street in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]]
* Mason Street in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
* Mason Street in [[Saginaw, Michigan]]

==See also==
*[[List of governors of Michigan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Catlin |first=George Byron |title=The story of Detroit |orig-year=1923 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/apk1036.0001.001 |access-date=January 28, 2007 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Downes |first=C. |title=''The Rise and Fall of Toledo, Michigan ... the Toledo War'', (reviewed) |magazine=Michigan History |volume=56 |pages=82–83 |year=1972}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Frank N. |title=When the Railroad Was King |magazine=Michigan History |volume=49 |page=295 }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* {{cite book |last=George |first=Mary Karl |title=The Rise and Fall of Toledo'', Michigan . . . the Toledo War |url=https://archive.org/details/risefalloftoledo0000unse/mode/2up |publisher=Michigan Historical Commission |year=1971 |location=Lansing |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Hagman |first=Harlan L. |title=Bright Michigan Morning: The Years of Governor Tom Mason |publisher=Green Oak Press |year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrZ5AAAAMAAJ&q=Bright+Michigan+Morning:+The+Years+of+Governor+Tom+Mason |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-9316-0002-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Hemans |first=Lawton T. |title=Life and Times of Stevens Thomson Mason the Boy Governor of Michigan |edition=2nd |publisher=Michigan Historical Commission |year=1920 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRMVAAAAYAAJ&q=Life+and+Times+of+Stevens+Thomson+Mason+the+Boy+Governor+of+Michigan}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Jenks |first=William L. |title=Michigan's Five Million Dollar Loan |magazine=Michigan History |volume=15 |pages=575–633 |year=1931}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* ''Lansing: Franklin DeKleine Company and the Michigan Historical Commission'', 1930.{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* ''Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Historical Commission'', 1971.{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* {{cite magazine |last = Norton |first = Clark F. |title = Michigan Statehood: 1835, 1836, or 1837 |magazine=Michigan History |volume = 36 |pages = 323, 327, 333 }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Malone |editor-first=Dumas |title=Dictionary of American Biography |volume=12 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1933 }}{{page needed|date=January 2018}}
* {{cite magazine |last = Shade |first = William G. |title = Banks and Politics in Michigan, 1835–1845: A Reconsideration |magazine=Michigan History |volume = 57 |pages = 32, 38–9, 42 }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
* {{cite magazine |last = Spill |first = William A. |title = University of Michigan: Beginnings-III |magazine = Michigan History |volume = 13 |page = 233 }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041114131233/http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/prehist/settling/boygov.html Settling a State]
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/mason.html#RHI179H3B Political Graveyard]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041815/http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=eb918cfbbefe2010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association]
*{{Find a Grave|6234829}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Michigan]]|years=[[1835 Michigan gubernatorial election|1835]], [[1837 Michigan gubernatorial election|1837]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Elon Farnsworth (Michigan Attorney General)|Elon Farnsworth]]}}
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{{Succession box
|title=[[Governors of Michigan Territory|Territorial Governor of Michigan]]
|before=[[George Bryan Porter]]
|after=John S. Horner
|years=1834–1835
}}
{{Succession box
| before= [[John S. Horner]]<br/><small>Territorial Governor</small>
| title= [[Governor of Michigan]]
| years= 1835–1840
| after= [[William Woodbridge]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Governors of Michigan}}
{{Virginia Masons}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Stevens T.}}
[[Category:1811 births]]
[[Category:1843 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Michigan]]
[[Category:Governors of Michigan Territory]]
[[Category:Mason family]]
[[Category:Burials in Michigan]]
[[Category:People from Leesburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:19th-century Michigan politicians]]
[[Category:Burials at New York Marble Cemetery]]