Fort Bend County, County Judge
Judge Masterson is a native Texan, born in Brazoria, Brazoria County, on the 13th of August 1871. His father, Thomas Washington Masterson, was named for a distant relative of General George Washington, Thomas Washington being the great-uncle of Thomas W. Masterson, who was also born in Texas. The grandfather of Judge Masterson on his mother’s side was Dr. John G. Chalmers (gan historic name), who was secretary of the Texas navy during the days of the Republic. The mother of Judge Masterson was Annie T. Chalmers. She waft raised by General Thomas Green, being very young when her father, Dr. Chalmers, died. General Green was her brother-in-law, having married her sister Eliza. Another sister married Colonel Majors, who served in the Confederate army prior to the breaking out of the civil war he was in the United States army, doing service on the Texas frontier, but went with the State when it seceded. One uncle of Judge Masterson, William Lee Chalmers, died last year (1903) in Washington, D. C. Senator John T. Morgan of Alabama, was first cousin of the Judges grandmother. The grandfather Masterson came from Tennessee to Texas, and settled at Velasco at an early day. The great-grandfather, Dr. Archibald Roane, was Governor of Tennessee in the early days of the independence of the United States.
Judge Masterson’s father died in 1877 and he was left when very young on his own resources, worked hard, and took a course of studies in the University of Texas, and law department lectures. Received license to practice law before he was of age, but his disabilities were removed according to the usages of law practice. Of the six brothers of his father’s family, five of them were lawyers and three were judges, as was also his grandfather, Judge Thomas G. Masterson. Five are now living and in the active practice of law.
Judge Masterson married Miss Fannie Pierce Harris of Brazoria County in October 1894. Her father was R. B. Harris. They came to Fort Bend County and to Richmond in 1897. Judge Masterson’s first inducement into office was to fill an unexpired term of two months in the County Judge’s office, made vacant by the resignation of Judge J. S. McEachin.
Judge Masterson is now serving his second term.