Daniel Massey (manufacturer)

Massey left home in 1817 at age 19 and spent several years clearing land for farms, which he then sold.^[2][3][5] In 1830, he settled down in Haldimand to care for his own farm.^[2] The same year, he brought a mechanical thresher, "one of the first... if not the very first imported into Upper Canada", back from a visit to Watertown; this was the start of his work on and fascination with farm implements.^[4][7]

In 1844, Massey's son Hart took over the farm, while Massey himself tinkered with repairing implements in a workshop on the property.^[2][4][7][3] He sold the farm to Hart in 1847 and moved to the Newcastle area, where he partnered with Richard F. Vaughan, owner of a struggling foundry and blacksmith shop in Bond Head. In 1849, he bought Vaughan's share of the company and moved to a larger facility in Newcastle, where he set up the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory.^{[6][2][8][4][3]} His son Hart joined the company as a superintendent in 1851, becoming a partner in 1853 and sole owner in 1856 when his father retired.^[2][3]

Though Massey and his business were not prominent during his lifetime, the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory thrived.^[2] In 1870, Massey Manufacturing Company outgrew its Newcastle workshop and moved to Toronto. The firm merged with its main competitor, A. Harris, Son and Company Limited in 1891, at which point it became Massey-Harris,^[3][1][8][6] which produced the world's first commercially successful self-propelled combine harvester in 1938.^[9] Massey-Harris purchased the Ferguson Company in 1953 to form Massey-Harris-Ferguson, which was shortened to Massey Ferguson in 1958.^[1] The company continued to grow and remains a top multinational farm implement manufacturer.^{[2][6][1][7][10][3]} The business was headed by Hart and his descendants until 1926.^[11]

Massey was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1981 after being nominated by Massey Ferguson.^[3]

Massey married his childhood sweetheart Lucina Bradley in 1820. A Methodist family, they had three sons and seven daughters.^[2][4] He died on 15 November 1856 in Newcastle^[2] and is buried at Bowmanville Cemetery in Clarington, Ontario.^{[citation needed]}

Lillian Massey Treble was Massey's granddaughter^[12] and Edward Wentworth Beatty was his grandson via daughter Elvira Deborah Massey. His great-grandchildren included Vincent Massey and Raymond Massey,^[11] and his great-great-grandchildren included actors Daniel and Anna Massey,^[13] architect Geoffrey Massey,^[14] and civil servant Lionel Massey.^[15]