Alicia of GenTales Genealogy talks about her 11th great-grandfather who was known in the 17th century as the Conqueror of the Pequots: Major John Mason. He was a lauded figure of Colonial Connecticut, but in modern times his fame is controversial, as are his memorial statues. Click here for a 5-minute video about Major Mason posted on July 2, 2025. For links to the news articles and other credits, visit https://gentales.substack.com/p/the-c…

Alicia begins by recounting that Mason was baptized in Ravensthorp, Northamptonshire, England, in October, 1600. He first joined the English military in his early 20s and served in the Netherlands during the early to mid part of the Thirty Years War. When he arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1632, he was appointed captain of the local militia and led naval attacks against pirates along the coast. 

He was well respected among colonial Massachusetts society. Mason represented Dorchester at the Massachusetts General Court and, after getting permission to extend the borders of English settlements, he participated in the founding of Windsor, Connecticut.

By 1655, the English settlers had claimed all of the Pequot land in the region, even the land their allies were supposed to get in return for helping in the War in the 1630s. As time passed, the tribes were pushed further and further away from their homes, and their numbers dwindled. The 1670s saw King Phillip’s War, another massacre, but against several tribes, including the Narragansetts and the Wampanoags.