Person:Henry Messinger (10)

link Several sources indicate that Henry was born about 1618. No record has been found of Henry's actual date of death, but his will was dated 25 March 1672/3. He was still very much alive several years later, however, when he signed a petition on 29 September 1677. The date of Henry's inventory was April 30, 1681, which would indicate that he probably died sometime in the spring of that year.

He was admitted to the church there on the 9th of January 1640, and eighteen days later was granted pasturage for two head of cattle at Muddy River (now Brookline).

Except for her given name Sarah, nothing is known of Henry's wife's parentage. The name Callowe (or Calloway) has been advanced by some, based on an item in Aspinwall's Notarial Records which states that on the 15th of November, 1647, "Mr. James Carie brought a token in a bagg closed up from Oliver Callow Mariner from Newfoundland to Henry Messinger, wch he Delivered to Sarah the wife of Henry Messinger, in presence of me Wm Aspinwall publ Notary, in whose presence it was by her opened, & at her request by me the said Notary tould, and was found to be the st summe of seven pounds sterl: Quod attestor virtute officig mei. 15 (9) 1647."

Another possible clue to Sarah's maiden name is to be found in her will, in which she chooses as overseers her "two Bellovd ffreinds" Simon Stone of Watertown and Abraham Williams of Marlborough, but related research has failed to find a connection. The name Ruth Williams, however, does appear. She was Mrs. Messinger's maidservant, and was admitted to the church 17 February 1671.

Henry's "house and garden" fronted on what is now Tremont Street, adjacent to King's Chapel Burying Ground, and extended down the slope easterly to the land of Major Sedgwick, which was on Cornhill Lane (now Washington Street). (See Gleaner Art. No. 3 by George Bowditch in Boston Transcript 1855-6; also George Lamb map.) His garden bordered Thomas Scottow on the South and Richard Crychley and the prison yard on the North. In 1645 Thomas Scottow's land was purchased for a schoolhouse (hence the present name School Street) and on 27 October that year it was ordered that six shillings be set off Henry's rate for mending the school -master's portion of the fence between their gardens. (See enlarged section of 1710 Bonner map from Memorial History of Boston, (Winsor, 1880); sketches from Antique Views of Boston, (1917); and The Crooked and Narrow Streets of the Town of Boston.)

Henry's tax indicated he owned five acres, but his "house and garden" which covered just about half the block toward Washington Street, and was the center third between School and Court Streets, was probably about one and one-half acres. The remaining acreage may have been his "great lott at Muddy River [Brookline] for two heads", plus any that may have been left him by Andrew whose land, a short distance away, lay part way up what is now Beacon Street or across Court Street. His house, though probably not the one depicted in the Antique Views sketch, stood where Ezekiel Price's is shown- and it, together with all his land, was willed at his death in 1681 to his wife Sarah. She, in turn, in 1697 bequeathed that house with half of the land to their son Simeon.

The remainder of the land with all "the Houseing on that" went to Thomas, who had probably built his house there sometime earlier. In 1800 lawyer Rufus Green Avery owned a brick house on this site. Henry's sons sold off his original property in various lots, part of which was occupied in turn by the Boston Athenaeum, Suffolk Savings Bank, the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Registry of Probate and Deeds. The houses north of Avery's had been built in the previous century and were bought in 1846 by David Kimball, who erected the Boston Museum Building, a popular place of entertainment for the next 60 years. It was replaced by the large Kimball office building. In 1655 Henry witnessed, together with Edward Smith and James Bushill, the will of George Stevens, and his signature appears on the subscription list for the building of the first Town House in 1657. Four years later, on 26 August it was ordered that the Town Treasurer agree with Henry Messenger, "or some other Workmen", to secure the foundation of the Town House, etc.

He became a member of the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company in 1658 and a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 3 May 1665. An item in the Mayflower Quarterly, 33:38, indicates that Henry may have been a debtor in 1664, in the amount of 482 and 443 gilders, 3 stivers to the estate of Capt. Thomas Willett of Marshfield, following that man's death in 1674.

Henry was a joiner, or cabinetmaker, as were his sons John, Simeon, Henry and Thomas. All but Thomas (who was only 15 at the time) were actively engaged in their trade on May 29, 1677 when their signatures appeared on a petition along with one hundred and twenty-nine other "handy-craftsmen" asking the General Court to protect them from newcomers and insufficiently apprenticed persons who claimed to be proficient in their trade and were undermining the established craftsmen.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts in its catalogue of the 1982 exhibition NEW ENGLAND BEGINS: The Seventeenth Century lists Henry Messinger as of the London joinery school, stating that the several examples of his chests which are pictured therein are products of the Mason-Messinger shops. (Several examples of their work are shown at the end of this book in Appendix A.) Ralph Mason was also one of the joiners who had signed the "handy-crafters"' petition, and apparently was in business with Henry (and their sons) for many years. Ralph's son Richard and Henry's eldest daughter Sarah were married by Governor Endicott — another indication of the prominence of these families in the community.

Sarah Messinger's death on 6 June 1697 at age 76 would put her birth date about 1621. She is buried in the Old Granary Burial Ground, on Tremont Street, a few hundred yards southeast of her home.

Children of Henry and Sarah, born in Boston:

# JOHN, b.25 Mar, bp. 25 April 1641
# SARAH, b.6 Mar, bp. 12 Mar 1643 "aged 3 days"
# SIMEON, b. 19 Mar, bp. 23 Mar 1645 "aged 4 days"
# MARYAH, b. 8 August, bp. 15 Aug 1647 "aged about 7 days"; m. John Thwing?
# ANNE, b. 20 Nov 1649
# ANNA, b. 7 Jan, bp. 20 Jan 1650_ "aged about 13 days"*
# REBECCA, b. 26 Jan, bp. 27 Jun 1652
# HENRY, b. 31 Aug, bp. 3 Sep 1654
# LYDIA, b. 22 Nov, bp. 23 Nov 1656
# PRISCILLA, b. 22 Nov, bp. 23 Nov 1656; d. 21 Jun 1657
# PRISCILLA, bp. 12 Jun 1659; m. Regnall Odell or John Thwing?
# THOMAS, b. 22 Mar, bp. 23 Mar 1662
# EBENEZER, b. 25 Oct, bp. 29 Oct 1665

link The author includes an extensive review and evaluation of the relationships of Henry to his supposed two brothers and possible father. While there was an Andrew Messenger in Boston it is unclear what his relationship was to Henry. Also the arrival date of 1637 was never documented [note Anderson in the Great Migration Directory places evidence of his arrival in Boston by 1639]

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"In answer to the peticion of Henry Messinger, humbly craving (that whereof he is recorded as guilty of a lye in the commissioners of Boston booke of records, for saying he had corrected his tonne for his miscarriage at the meeting house, when the youth,on examination, sayd it was his mother that corrected him, &c) that that judgment of the said comissioners might be reversed, the Court grants his request, viz., the revercon of that judgment."

link Aspinwall's Notarial Records states that on the 15th of November, 1647, "Mr. James Carie brought a token in a bagg closed up from Oliver Callow Mariner from Newfoundland to Henry Messinger, wch he Delivered to Sarah the wife of Henry Messinger, in presence of me Wm Aspinwall publ Notary, in whose presence it was by her opened, & at her request by me the said Notary tould, and was found to be the st summe of seven pounds sterl: Quod attestor virtute officig mei. 15 (9) 1647."

Sarah's Father may or may not be Oliver Callowe. In Newfoundland he sent her money by a token box in Boston. It is shown he married in 1655 to a Judith Clocke. No further evidence of their relationship is known. Other hints as to Sarah's maiden name are given in "Descendants of Henry Messinger of Boston, 1637."

link on Ancestry and link on AmericanAncestors
HENRY'S WILL:
"I Henery Messenger of Boston in new england Senior and Joyner by trade being weak in body but of
good and perfect memory it not knowing the time of my departure hence doth make this my Last will
and testament in form following
I desire to give up my soul to god my creator who gave it unto me and my body after my desecs unto
the earth out of wich it was taken therin to be desently buried
And for what worly goods the Lord hath given me my due debts being payed house and housing Lands
and all outher real & personall goods and estat whatsoever I doe hartyly fully cleerly absolutly give unto
Sarah my beloved wife to to be wholy and solie hers during her Life and she to dispos of the same at her
deseces acording to her discresion unto my children my eldest son John only excepted for resons best
known to selfe and haveing been helpfull to him alredy I give to him five shilngs and no more and to be
payed within a mounth to him after my deseces finaly I doe ordan apoynt and make my said dearly
beloved wife sole execitris of this my Last will and testiment in witnes hearof I put to my hand and seale
this 25th day of march 1672/3
Henery Messinger [sig]
Signed sealed & delivered
in pressence of us:
Humph: Hodges [sig]
John thwing [sig]
Henry Messinger personally appearing
did acknowledge this to be his last
will and testament April 9th 1673
Before me William Stoughton
Humphry Hodges & Jno Thwing testified uppon oath that they were present uppon the Day of the Date
of this Instrument or Will & Testament and Did See Henry Messenger signe seale & deliver this declaring
it to be his last will & testament Don in Boston this 10th April 1673 before mee Hum: Davie
[At side]:
John Thwing appearing before Humphry Davie Esq and Sam] Nowell [?] Esqr Attests 28 April 1681
affirmed upon by former oath that hee did see Henry Messenger signe seale & declare this instrument to
bee his last will & testament
Isaac Addington Clerk [?]

link on Ancestry and on AmericanAncestors Will of his wife Sarah Messinger:

Sarah Messinger's death on 6 June 1697 at age 76 would put her birth date about 1621. This provides
further evidence that she and Henry were probably married in Boston rather than before leaving England,
since she would have been only 15 or 16 when Henry arrived in 1637. She is buried in the Old Granary
Burial Ground, on Tremont Street, a few hundred yards southeast of her home.
SARAH MESSINGER'S WILL:
"I Sarah Messenger of the towne of Boston in the Countie of Suffolk in the province of the
Massachusets in Newengland Haveing an Estate of lands and Houseing with Movables left unto mee,
and to be soaly att my Disposal, By the last will and testamen t of my Beloved Husband Henrey
Mesenger senr Disceased as by his will Doth plainely appear; And Now Beeing stricken in years and
under Many infirmities of Body; though intire in understanding, not Knowing the Day of my Death,
Have Devised and Declared this as my last will and Testament, ffirst I Comend my Soul into the
hands of god in Jesus Christ, or into the hand of my merciful Creator and Redemer; Secondlie I comit
my Body to the Earth to bee Decently Buried att the Charg of my two Sons Simeon Mesenger and
Thomas Mesenger, And as ffor that estate that I leave I will that it be Devided as ffolloweth, viz I will
that my land my Houseing stands uppon bee eqaly Devided betwen my two sons Simeon Mesenger
and Thomas Mesenger that either of them have an Eqal part of it; the parting line to be stated betwixt
them from the highway on the westerly End to Mr Sandlyes ffenc on the easterly end, My son Simeon
to have the left hand part Next Bomsteads with all the Houseing on that and the Coat of Arms the
Mesenger Arms Hanging in the Parlour, with the Cow common belonging to the lot- to be his, his
Heires executors Administrators and Assignes forever the other Half viz the Right hand part Next the
Burying place I will and Give to my son thomas Messenger with all the Houseing upon that, to bee to
him his Heires executors Administrators and Asignes forever, I will that they both have eqal Right to
and benifit of, the pump, inless they other ways agree, I will that Ana Messenger my son Johns
Daughter shal have my Best ffether Bed and Bolster and two pillows; I will that all the rest of my
Houshold Goods bee Eqaly Devided amongst my own Daughters to each on of them theireEqual part,
and if any one of my Daughters Dy before this Devition Bee made or my will take place, then that
Estate that should have ben for her the mother shall bee Devided to her Children, I will that the
Liveing creatures that shall be found at my dicease to bee mine shal be devided Betwen Simeon and
Thomas my two sons abovesd; ffinaly I Apoint by two Sons, Simeon Messenger and Thomas
Messenger to bee my Executors of this my last will and Testament, And my two Bellovd ffreinds
Simon Ston of Wattertowneand Abraham Williams of Marlborough I Chuse to bee my overseers to see
that this my will be ffulfilled, and if ther bee any just Debts made my mee and demonstrated so to bee
my two Sons Simeon and Thomas abovesd shal pay them, And as a fful and Clear Demonstration that
this is my Last will and testament and yt all other and fformer wills of mine are hereby Nulled and
made void, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this eighteenth of September in the year of our lord
on thousand six hundred Nintie and four and in the Sixth year of their Majesties Reigne King William
and Queene Mary
Sarah Meseniger [sig] [Seal]
Signed sealled and Delivered in the presenc of
Wittneses-
John Ward [sig] Suffolk - ss: Mr. John Ward, Mr Jonathan Whittney
Jonathan Whitney [sig] and Josia Fisher, all personally appearing
Josiah Fisher [sig] before me the subscriber, one of those made
Justice of the peace for sd County, made
oath that they were present and did see
Sarah Messenger Seal & Deliver this
instrument & declare it to be her act &
deed Jer. Dumer
Suffolk Ss By the Honble William Stoughton Esqr: Judge of Probate

Judge's attestation
The within written Will being presented by Simeon Messenger and Thomas Messenger Executors
therein named- John Ward Jonathan Whitney & Josiah Fisher and three witnesses thereto personally
appearing before me, made Oath that they were present and did see Abraham Williams Signe the
within writeen Istrumt in the presence & by the express direction of Sarah Messenger the within
named Testatrix and that she the sd Sarah Messenger did Seale & publish the same as her last Will &
Testament, being then of sound disposing mind to their best discerning and that they subscribed their
names as Witnesses thereto in presence of the sd Testatrix
Boston June 24 1697 Jurat Cor. Wm Stoughton [sig]