In 1755 George Mason requested that his brother Thomson Mason, who was then in London, secure the services of a carpenter/ joiner to work on the construction of Gunston Hall. Thomson Mason selected 21-year-old William Buckland who had just completed his term of service under a previous indenture. Mason agreed to pay Buckland 20 pounds per year and require his service for four years. This level of pay and term of service indicates Buckland's status as a skill craftsman. On the back of this indenture is an endorsement of completion by George Mason that gives his former servant an excellant recommendation.

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Four years after he began his term of service with George Mason, Buckland gained his freedom and received an excellant recommendation. Buckland would go on to become a prominent local architect, dying in 1774 when he was 41-years-old and at the height of his career.

The endorsement reads: "The within named William Buckland came into Virginia with my brother Thomson Mason who engaged him in London & had a very good character of him there; during the time he lived with me he had the entire Direction of the Carpenters and Joiners work of a large House; and having behaved very faithfully in my service, I can with great justice recommend him as an honest sober diligent man & I think a complete Master of the Carpenter's and Joiner's Business both in theory and practice."

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