William Thayer Mason was born the 9th of July 1795 in Woodford, Kentucky. His parents were John Mason (1775 to 1852) and Nancy Jack (1775 to 1871). Many ancestry trees have his middle name listed as Thayer, and some records suggest he was a twin. However the only records which actually use a middle name are both of his marriage records and his middle name is given as Dwight.

William married Lydia Sampson on the 22nd of May 1826 in Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana. Lydia was born the 7th of September 1806 in Syracuse, New York to the parents of Seth Sampson (1778 to 1856) and Eunice Elizabeth Hopkinson (1786 to 1833). In the fall of 1816, at the age of ten, her family moved from New York to Indiana. Her family helped establish the Antiock Methodist Episcopal Church in 1620 as they were among the first members of the congregation. Some records spell her last name as Samson.

Note: Lydia's fourth great grandfather was Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Her two grandfathers and one of her great grandfathers fought in the Revolutionary War.

Children of William Mason and Lydia Sampson:

1. John Franklin Mason (1827 to 1911) married Margaret Rachel Underhill.

2. Mary Ann Mason (1828 to 1901) married Arthur Connely Adams.

3. Seth William Mason (1831 to 1912) married Syrene Hanon.

4. Olive Bennington Mason (1833 to 1921) married Thomas Jefferson Minnis.

5. Joseph Green Mason (1835 to 1908) married Lucinda E. Taylor.

6. Nancy Jane Mason (1838 to 1890) married James William Angleton and William L. Bearden.

On the 20th of December 1839, after the death of his first wife, William married Sara Moor (1818 to 1860) and had at least seven additional children. When married she was only twenty-one years old. He was forty-four..

Children of William Mason and Sara Moor:.

7. Benjamin William Mason (1840 to 1891) married Emily Ann Denton.

8. Amanda Mae Mason 91841 to 1920) married Joseph Gilford Workman and Hiram H Wray.

9. Thomas Jefferson Mason (1845 to 1920).

10. Jesse Alonzo Mason (1847 to 1922) married Clarinda Isabelle Denton.

11. Elza Garrison Mason (1849 to 1928) married Julia Gruber.

12. Elizabeth Catrina Mason (1850 to 1873).

13. Johnson Jack Mason (1853 to 1859).

Two of the sons, John Franklin Mason and Thomas Jefferson Mason, fought in the Civil War.

William died in 1859 at the age of 64. He is buried at Old Walnut Hill Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Illinois. Lydia had passed away on the 23rd of February 1838. She was only thirty-one years old. Lydia is buried at the Big Bone Baptist Church Cemetery in Boone County, Kentucky. They had only been married for eleven years.