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The Massey family is a Canadian family with Methodist roots that has been prominent since the mid-19th century, known for manufacturing farm equipment and for being patrons of the arts in Canada. [1] [2] The family's manufacturing company, later known as Massey Ferguson, provided the Masseys with their significant fortune. Subsequent generations of Masseys have risen to prominence in the arts, philanthropy and governance. The Massey name remains visible through institutions such as Massey Hall, Massey College and the Massey Lectures.
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The Masseys had been in North America since the 17th century, when Jeffrey Massey (1591–1676) migrated from England to the Massachusetts colony in the 1630s to work as a surveyor. The Masseys continued to live in Massachusetts for several generations and fought in the American Revolutionary War. During the first decade of the 19th century, Daniel Massey (1766–1832) and his wife, Rebecca Kelley (1765–1838), moved their family to Haldimand Township in Upper Canada to farm. [1]
In 1847, their son Daniel Massey, Jr. (1798–1856) established the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory in what is now Newcastle, Ontario. The enterprise was subsequently renamed as the Massey Manufacturing Co. and, in 1879, moved to Toronto, Ontario.
In 1891, the Massey Manufacturing Co. merged with A. Harris, Son and Company to form Massey-Harris, which became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. The company eventually became Massey-Harris-Ferguson as a result of a 1953 merger with the Ferguson Company, a British agricultural machinery firm. The company's name was shortened to Massey Ferguson in 1958. After running into financial difficulties during the 1980s, the company closed its Toronto operations in the 1990s. By 2000, the company became part of the American conglomerate AGCO, which continues the Massey Ferguson brand of farm equipment today.
In 1894, Hart Massey built Massey Hall, a performing arts theatre in Toronto, in memory of his late son, Charles Albert Massey (1848–1884), who loved music. [1]
On 8 February 1915, Charles' son, Charles Albert "Bert" Massey II (1880–1915), was shot to death by Carrie Davies (c. 1897–1961), his 18-year-old British maid, sparking a trial of the century in Canada. Davies, who was ultimately found not guilty, claimed that she shot Bert because she was afraid that he wanted to sexually assault her. [3] [4]
In 1918, the family incorporated the Massey Foundation, which was responsible for the construction of various Toronto landmarks and was the first trust of its kind in Canada. In 1919, Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of the University of Toronto, initiated and financed at the university one of the earliest student centres in North America, naming it Hart House after his grandfather.[ citation needed ]
In 1952, Vincent would be sworn in as Governor General of Canada.
In 1962, the Massey Foundation established, built, and partially endowed Massey College, a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto.[ citation needed ]
In 1975, Massey Hall was municipally designated as a historic site under the Ontario Heritage Act . On 15 June 1981, Massey Hall was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[ citation needed ] Starting in July 2018, Massey Hall underwent a two-year restoration project to restore and renew both the interior and exterior of the building, improve patron amenities and accessibility, open two new music venues, and enable the return of the building's original stained glass windows from 1894. [5]
In 1978, the family was the subject of a two-part CBC TV documentary, The Masseys: Chronicles of a Canadian Family, produced by Vincent Tovell, a grandson of Walter Massey, with music by Louis Applebaum. [1]
The following are some of the various structures and other entities in Canada named in honour of members of the Massey family.
Buildings/venues:
Locations:
Organizations and other:
Schools:
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. It was opened in November 1876 and is located north of Moore Park, a neighbourhood of Toronto. The cemetery has kilometres of drives and walking paths interspersed with fountains, statues and botanical gardens, as well as rare and distinct trees. It was originally laid out by German-born landscape architect Henry Adolph Engelhardt, inspired by the European and American garden cemeteries of the 19th century, and with influences from Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston.
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian, later American, actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his most well-known roles were Dr. Gillespie in the NBC television series Dr. Kildare (1961–1966), Abraham Farlan in A Matter of Life and Death and Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Charles Vincent Massey was a Canadian diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after Confederation.
Massey Ferguson Limited is a Canadian-British agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in Toronto, then Brantford, Ontario, Canada, until 1988. The company transferred its headquarters in 1991 to Buffalo, New York, U.S. before it was acquired by AGCO, the new owner of its former competitor Allis-Chalmers.
Daniel Massey was an American-born blacksmith and businessman in what is now Newcastle, Ontario, who began production of agricultural implements in 1847.
Denton Massey was a Canadian engineer, Anglican priest and politician.
Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was modeled around the traditional Cambridge and Oxford collegiate system and features a central court and porters lodge. Similar to St. John's College, Cambridge, and All Souls College, Oxford, senior and junior fellows of Massey College are nominated from the university community and occasionally the wider community, and are elected by the governing board of the college. The President of the University of Toronto, the Dean of graduate studies and three members of the Massey Foundation are ex officio members of the governing board, chaired by the elected member of the governing board. Members of the governing board are elected for five years; the Principal of the college is elected for seven years.
Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat 3,500 patrons, but after extensive renovations in the 1940s, it now seats up to 2,765. It has an extensive history of concerts by artists of many musical genres which continues today.
The Keg Mansion is a former residential building that is presently used as a location for a The Keg restaurant, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially known as Euclid Hall, a prominent downtown heritage building located at 515 Jarvis Street.
Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to.
Varity was a Canadian multinational manufacturing company, created in 1986 from the remains of Massey Ferguson (MF) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Varity also owned Perkins Engines, headquartered in Peterborough, England, and Kelsey-Hayes, headquartered in Romulus, Michigan, as well as subsidiaries in many countries. After a period of corporate losses left MF insolvent, Varity was formed to detach the ownership of insolvent Massey Ferguson from its liabilities, including pension plans, and enable the Massey Ferguson brand and several subsidiaries to continue as working entities. By the year 2000, Varity itself was defunct, having successfully sold off its divisions.
George MacKinnon Wrong was a Canadian clergyman and historian.
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is a private members' club in Toronto, Ontario, which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors and others working in or with a love of the arts and letters. It was founded in 1908 as a gentlemen's club, but women have been members since 1985.
Hart Almerrin Massey was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Massey family. He was an industrialist who built the agricultural equipment firm that became Massey Ferguson, now part of AGCO.
The Massey Foundation was incorporated in 1918. It is responsible for the construction of many Toronto landmarks. It was the first trust of its kind in Canada.
Alice Parkin Massey was a Canadian philanthropist and the wife of Vincent Massey, who became Governor General of Canada shortly after Alice Massey's death.
The Lillian Massey Building is a Neoclassical building located in Downtown Toronto, at the southeast corner of Queen's Park and Bloor Street along the Mink Mile and across from the Royal Ontario Museum. It was designed by architect George Martell Miller (1855–1933) and built between 1908 and 1912 for the University of Toronto's Household Science program created by Lillian Massey Treble, daughter of wealthy Canadian business man, Hart Massey. It presently houses the offices of the University of Toronto's Department of Classics and Centre for Medieval Studies and the offices of the University of Toronto's Division of University Advancement. Part of the building previously housed Club Monaco’s flagship retail store until 2021.
Victor Albert Sinclair was a lawyer and political figure in Ontario. He represented Oxford South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1914 to 1919 as a Conservative member.
Lillian Massey Treble was a Canadian philanthropist and educator who was a member of the prominent Massey family.
Lionel Massey was a Canadian civil servant and dignitary, most noted for serving as Secretary to the Governor General of Canada during his father Vincent Massey's term as Governor General.
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