Andrew Mason and his family
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Andrew (1868 - 1912) and Annie Jane
(1867 - 1915) Mason immigrated to the
USA in 1891. They were married in
1892. Andrew may have been working
for Oliver H Payne earlier than then, as
Payne often visited England on his
summer cruises. In 1895 Andrew and
Annie and their daughter Hilda traveled
to England with Oliver Hazard Payne.
They are listed on the Ellis Island site
arriving from Liverpool on the S.S.
Teutonic. Andrew is listed as OHP's valet. The 1900 census for
Manhattan mentions Andrew in two places: Payne's residence
at 852 Fifth Avenue and also in an apartment at 217 East 70th
Street, where Annie also lives with their first two children,
Hilda born July 1892 and Alice born December 1895. Andrew is
described as a butler in both census records.
Given Andrew's work background as valet and butler, it seems
unusual that Oliver H Payne chose Andrew to be the first
manager of the Esopus estate. Payne was a private person and
placed enormous confidence in persons he trusted. Payne
chose him to supervise the construction activity on the Esopus
land. At first the Masons lived on the West Park Mountain Road
until the former Pratt home was ready for occupancy by the
manager. Then the family moved onto the property. While on
West Park Mountain Road, their neighbor was a widow,
Margaret Vandewater, with three children who maintained a
farm.
On 6 Dec 1912, Andrew Mason was injured in an auto accident
while on his way from Esopus to Catskill NY. He was taken to
























































Kingston Hospital. His leg was broken in
two places below the knee and it became
necessary to amputate the leg. He
developed blood poisoning. Payne sent
his personal physician from New York
City to no avail, and Andrew died in 13
December 1912. After a funeral
ceremony held in the Church of the
Ascension, he was buried in Woodlawn
Cemetery, Bronx NY on 16 December
1912. The Mason plot at Woodlawn
contains a 12 foot tall Celtic cross. It
seems likely that Oliver H Payne paid the
cost of the plot and monument.
The family legend was that Annie also
was killed in the accident. In fact Annie
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H
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nee Smith died in New York City 8 April 1915. She too is buried
in Woodlawn.
Another family legend is that Hilda went
to NYC to become an actress. She
married a Kenneth L Harper or
Philadelphia who was born in
Philadelphia July 1892. The 1930 census
places her in Philadelphia with her
husband who is a chemist in a textile
mill. Hilda and Kenneth have been
married fourteen years, which places the
wedding around 1915, shortly before or
after her mother's death. The couple
have a son, James B Harper, four years
old, born in Philadelphia, which indicates
the couple lived in Philadelphia about
1925. Hilda died on Christmas Day 1943 at age 50. She is
buried in the family plot at Woodlawn. Her son, James B



Harper died 6 May 1987 age 61, and is also buried in the
family plot.
Alice Mary Mason married John
Vandewater (1892-1968). a prominent
attorney of Hyde Park and Poughkeepsie
NY. The couple had two children, John
Mason Vandewater (1917 -1993) and
Robert Barclay Vandewater( 1921 -
1990). John married Julia Frances
Chatterton ( 1917 - 1982) of Newburgh NY, and the cou pie had
two daughters, Julie and Margaret. Robert married Elizabeth
Peelor (1922 - )
By 1920, Dorothy Edna Mason, the youngest daughter, was
living in Staatsburg, New York, across the river from Esopus,
as a ward of Emma Larson, who had been Payne's supervisor
of the three locations: NYC, Esopus and Thomasville. In 1920
or 1921, Dorothy married Milton Bradford Miller, a native of
Osage, Kansas; both his parents were born in Ohio, his father
a banker. The couple spent most of their life in Kansas, where
Milton practiced as a physician and surgeon in Shawnee,
Kansas. They had two children: Jane Miller and Milton Bradford
Miller Jr.
Essay first written 2001. Revised and amplified 1 June 2011.
Still needs photos to be inserted.