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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
A
DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
BRISTOL COUNTY
MASSACHUSETTS
PREPARED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
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THE
FALL RIVER NEWS
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AND
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THE
TAUNTON GAZETTE
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WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
HON. ALANSON BORDEN
OF NEW BEDFORD
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THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
1899
PART II
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Austin Messinger
AUSTIN MESSINGER was practically a lifelong resident of Norton, Bristol county, Mass.,
where he was born November 2, 1817, and where he died February 1, 1898. He was descended in the sixth generation
from Henry and Sarah Messinger, who settled in Boston prior to January 27, 1640, at which time Henry "has
a lot of land allowed him atMuddy river, by town grant, for two heads." Henry Messinger was the first known
proprietor of the land on which now stands the buildings of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Boston Museum.
He was a joiner by trade, a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1658, and a freeman in 1665,
and probably died in 1681. Of his eleven children, Thomas, the tenth, was born March 22, 1661, married Elizabeth,
daughter of John and Martha Mellows, and had three eons and three daughters. Ebenezer Messinger, son of Thomas,
was born June 2, 1697, in Boston, and removed to Wrentham, Mass., where his first wife died November 21, 1752,
aged fifty-one; she was Rebecca, daughter of Wigglesworth and Ursillear Sweetser, and they were married January
1, 1719, by Rev. Cotton Mather. November 3, 1766, he married, second, Hannah Metcalf. He died June 9, 1768. He
had eight children, all by his first wife. Sweetser Messinger, the seventh child, married Elizabeth, daughter of
John and Elizabeth Smith, and had twelve children, of whom Oliver, the youngest son, was born June 28, 1778. Oliver
Messinger moved from Wrentham to a farm in Norton, Bristol county, where he died in January, 1850. He married,
first, Patience Miller, who died leaving three children: Albert, James Oliver and Louisa. His second wife was Rhoda,
daughter of Elder George Kilton, of Taunton. She was born April 23, 1792, and bore him two children, Austin and
Rhoda Maria.
Austin Messinger received a limited common school education in his native town, but being possessed of great force
of character and unusual intellectual attainments he very early displayed those strong qualities of head and heart,
which ultimately brought him success and honor. By improving the opportunities that fell his way be became a well
read, thoroughly posted man, and achieved prominence as the result of his own exertions. Before he reached his
majority he had learned the painter's trade, and at the age of twenty-three he opened a paint shop in Taunton,
where he carried on a successful business for several years. His health failing, he returned to Norton in the spring
of 1846, and built the house in which he ever afterward resided, and which stands within a few feet of where he
was born. A few years later he began to experiment with friction matches, and when, in 1857, the patent on them
expired he. commenced the manufacture on a small scale, first in a back room of his house. He took the first lot
to Providence, R. I., in a sleigh, and disposed of them so advantageously that, upon his return, he erected a small
building and employed a few girls, and from that modest beginning grew one of the largest match plants in this
part of the country. During its many years of success the establishment paid into the government treasury hundreds
of thousands of dollars in revenue taxes. In 1870 he formed a copartnership with his son-in-law, Andrew H. Sweet,
and under the firm name of Messinger & Sweet the concern continued in the manufacture of matches until 1881,
when the plant became a part of the Diamond Match Company's property. The firm managed the business in Norton until
1884, when it was dissolved, the machinery being removed to Boston. Afterward until his death Mr. Messinger was
not engaged in active business, though he was always ready for any service that he could render.
Mr. Messinger early began to take an active part in politics and prominently identified himself with the Democratic
party, casting his first presidential vote for Van Buren in 1840. In 1848 he entered the Free Soil party, and as
its candidate was sent in 1851 to represent the town of Norton in the Massachusetts Legislature, being a member
of that celebrated house which, after balloting nearly all winter, finally elected Charles Sumner to the United
States Senate. Mr. Messinger's last Democratic vote was cast for James K. Polk in 1844. In 1856 he joined the Republican
party, being present as a delegate at the famous Massachusetts convention when that party was organized in the
State. He was town clerk of Norton from 1861 to 1883, a period of twenty-two years. In 1882 be was again sent to
the Legislature, and in 1888 and 1889 was elected State senator from the First Bristol district by the largest
majorities ever given a candidate there for that office. During these two terms he served on the committees on
drainage, towns, public charitable institutions, and parishes and religious societies. For nearly fifty years he
was a justice of the peace, .ãnd discharged the duties of that office with singular ability and honor. In
1887 he was elected a member of the Board of Selectmen of Norton and served two years, and in the old days of High
Sheriff Cobb he was appointed deputy sheriff. In all these positions as well as in business affairs Mr. Messinger
exhibited great executive ability and achieved the distinction of leadership. He was a man of indomitable energy,
of the highest integrity, and of broad intellectuality, and during a long and eminent career enjoyed the respect
and confidence of the entire community. His perseverance is best illustrated in connection with his match business,
in which he was twice burned out, the last time in the summer of 1866. With characteristic enterprise he rebuilt
his plant, and by his own efforts gained both success and wealth. He was president of the Norton Building and Loan
Association and a trustee of the Unitarian Church for many years, and a member of King David Lodge, F. & A.
M., of Taunton.
December 24, 1840, he married Selina A. F. Alden, daughter of Jason F. and Keziah Eaton (Shaw) Alden, of Middleborough,
and a lineal descendant in the sixth generation of John Alden and Priscilla Mullens of the Mayflower. She survives
him. They had two children: Emma Evelyn, who died in infancy, and Mary Ella. born December 23, 1845, who married,
June 8, 1870, Andrew Hodges Sweet, son of Joseph Dana and Abby A. (Hodges) Sweet, of Norton; they have one son,
Austin Messinger Sweet, born May 10, 1874, who is associated in business with his father in Norton, and who married,
April 8, 1896, Mary Alice, daughter of Allison J. and Delia M. Cowles, of that town.
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