| James W. Mason | |
| Birth Date: | c. 1841 |
| Birth Place: | Chicot County, Arkansas |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Parents: | Elisha Worthington |
James Worthington Mason (c. 1841 – November 1874) was a state senator, sheriff, and postmaster in Arkansas. In 1868 he was one of the first six African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House.[1] He also served in the Arkansas Senate[2] and was the first African American postmaster in the United States.[3]
James W. Mason was born in about 1841 in Chicot County, Arkansas.[4] His father, Elisha Worthington, was a Kentucky-born large landowner and the owner of the Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County.[4] His mother was an African slave owned by his father.[4] As a result, he was a mulatto. He had a sister, Martha. They were both recognized by their father, and they studied at Oberlin College in Ohio.[4] He also studied in France.[4]
Mason was appointed as the postmaster of Sunnyside in 1867, becoming the first documented African-American postmaster in the United States.[4] [5]
He served as a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1868 to 1869.[4]
He was appointed as Consul General to Liberia on March 29, 1870.[6] However, he failed to fill the position.[4]
He served in the Arkansas Senate a second time, from 1871 to 1872.[4] He then served as the Sheriff of Chicot County from 1872 to 1874.[4] In the summer of 1873, he was arrested under the suspicion of inciting a race war in the county.[4] The judge, Colonel John A. Williams, dismissed the trial.[4]
He married Rachel, who was also of mixed race.[4] They had a daughter, Fannie. Mason died in late November 1874.[4]