Thomas Messenger, son of John Messenger Esq., was born in 1810 in the county of Surrey in Southeast England. Having relocated to New York City at a very young age, Thomas Messenger spent the majority of his early and adult life in the area of Great Neck, Long Island. Thomas Messenger, his wife Ann Messenger, and daughters Emma and Marie (also known as Minnie) resided at the family farm in Great Neck, known as Minnamere (or referenced as Minna-mere in some key correspondence), and 27 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Messenger's influence on the Great Neck community was far-reaching. Messenger was assigned as the Trustee of the Aged and Infirm Clergy fund of the diocese of Long Island and was well-known as an early supporter and the largest stockholder of the Great Neck branch of the Flushing and North Shore Railroad, for which he was the receiver after his death. One of Thomas Messenger's greatest passions involved enriching the agricultural community of Queens County, N.Y. Messenger placed significant attention to the importing and breeding of foreign cattle, having specifically introduced the Hampshire Down Sheep into the New York agricultural community. His passion garnered him awards at local agricultural shows and secured his elected position of President of the Queens County Agricultural Society in 1877. The Messengers gradually expanded their modest Minnamere farm, resulting in the family becoming the largest landowners in the Great Neck community.
Messenger's influence outside of Long Island included his position as a well-known merchant in the areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Thomas and his brother, Harry Messenger, went into the tobacco business, residing their headquarters at 161 Maiden Lane in New York City under the name of T. & H. Messenger & Co. Outside of his position as a tobacco merchant, Messenger would gain further recognition as the President of the Brooklyn Bank, a position he held for 25 years and in which he continued to serve up until his death on October 20, 1881. At the time of his death, Messenger retained positions as Senior Director of the Home Insurance Company of New York, Treasurer of the Brooklyn City Hospital, and Trustee of the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Industrial School. Upon the death of Thomas and Ann Messenger, a memorial window was erected at the All Saints' Church in Great Neck. The Messengers were well-known for their generous donations to both All Saints' Church and St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn. Ann Messenger, whose exact date of death is unknown, survived her husband by no more than 15 years. The eldest Messenger daughter, Emma Gignoux-Messenger, died in 1915, survived by her sister, Marie, whose date of death is unknown.
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Sources:
- Bailey, L. H.
Cyclopedia of American Agriculture; A Popular Survey of Agricultural Conditions, Practices and Ideals in the United States and Canada. New York: The Macmillan Co, 1907.
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History of Queens County, New York With Illustrations, Portraits, and Sketches of Prominent Families and Individuals. New York: W.W. Munsell and Co, 1882.
- "The Messenger Window."
Brooklyn Eagle 2 Nov. 1896: 5.
- Spinzia, Raymond E., and Judith A. Spinzia.
Long Island's Prominent North Shore Families Their Estates and Their Country Homes. College Station, Tex: VirtualBookworm.com Pub, 2006.
From the guide to the Thomas Messenger family papers, 1829-1923, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
