Biography - TICE D. MASON
Prof. Tice D. Mason, principal of the schools at Browns, Illinois, was
born August 21, 1881, on a farm near Bone Gap. He is a son of Jacob and Mary
(Smith) Mason. Jacob Mason was born in 1845, and was a native of Richland
county; he was the son of George Mason, also a resident of Richland county.
Jacob Mason was a farmer, prosperous and well known, and he settled in
Edwards county in 1866. He owned six hundred acres of valuable Illinois farm
land, which he operated in a highly successful manner until his death in
1905. His wife, Mary Smith, was a daughter of Isaac Smith, a pioneer settler
of Edwards county. She is still living in West Salem. Five children were
born to them, named below in the order of their birth: Anna, died at the
early age of three years; Delia, who became the wife of Dr. Weber; Charles,
on the home farm; Tice D., of this review; Lloyd, a dentist located in
Chicago.
Professor Mason was educated in the public schools of Albion and later
attended the Southern Collegiate Institute and the Southern Illinois Normal
at Carbondale, Illinois. In 1903 he began his teaching career. For three
years he taught in country schools and for the three years following was
assistant principal of the Bone Gap Schools. For the past four years he has
been superintendent of the Browns public schools, and he has been reengaged
for a fifth year with an increase of salary. Under his direction the
character of the high school of Browns has taken on additional qualities of
thoroughness and completeness, and the curriculum of the school is one well
suited to the demands of the student body. The course is one of three years
duration. The high school enrollment is in the neighborhood of twenty-five,
and four assistants are employed in the school. In addition to his interests
in the educational field, Mr. Mason has been able to give some attention to
outside matters, and he is now the owner of a farm of one hundred acres of
land.
In 1900 Prof. Mason was united in marriage with Miss Flossie Rude, of Bone
Gap, a daughter of Albert and Christine Rude. They have an adopted daughter,
named Mary. The family are members of the Methodist church.
Extracted 11 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, volume 3, page 1595.
