A progressive farmer, Daniel Massey was fascinated by the new labour-saving machinery that was beginning to appear in Upper Canada (Ontario). In 1844 he turned over the management of his Grafton area farm to his son Hart so that he could devote all of his time to tinkering with these new machines in a small workshop on the farm. Convinced of his ability to produce better machines, in 1847 he opened his own agricultural implement company in Newcastle, Ontario. From this modest beginning sprang one of the largest and most important firms in Canada's history, the Massey Company.

The Massey Manufacturing Company grew very quickly under the direction, in succession, of Daniel, his son Hart, and Hart's sons - Charles, Chester, Walter, and Fred. All of the Masseys were skilled businessmen who understood the importance of producing the most up-to-date machinery. Frequent trips to the United States allowed them to secure production rights to new machines that they then modified, even improved. The Masseys also believed in promoting their products: Massey machines won prizes at fairs and exhibitions all over North America and later in Europe. Soon Massey began to sell products worldwide.

Other factors also helped to promote the growth of the company. The National Policy under Sir John A. Macdonald in 1879 gave Massey a secure home market. A shortage of labour on Canadian farms also meant that farmers were looking to invest in machines that would reduce labour involved in harvesting. Additionally, continued emphasis on wheat production in Canada was a boon to Massey since it specialized in grain-harvesting equipment.

Massey's biggest competitor was the A. Harris Company of Brantford. Founded by Alanson Harris of Beamsville in 1880, this firm was engaged in a "binder war" with Massey, with each company struggling to produce the best and lowest-priced machine. By 1891 the two firms arrived at a creative solution to their mutual problem. They merged!

The new company, Massey-Harris, which already boasted a 50 percent market share in grain-harvesting machinery, was quick to acquire similar manufacturing companies. For example, the Wisner Company, specializing in seed drills, and the Verity Plow Company and the Bain Wagon Company, both specializing in other agricultural equipment, came under the Massey-Harris umbrella. Now Massey-Harris could offer a full line of agricultural machinery to farmers and had the sales and distribution network to support the various products.

In the twentieth century, the Massey-Harris Company forged ahead. It led the world in developing the first self-propelled combine in the 1930s, a machine that enabled farmers to harvest grain quickly and efficiently. During World War II, the Harvest Brigade, a fleet of Massey-Harris combines played a key role in the Allied victory by helping the North American grain crop.

After a Massey harvester won grand prize at the 1876 Paris National Exhibition, the Massey Manufacturing Co. began exporting farming implements worldwide, moving its headquarters to Toronto in 1879. By 1892, the company merged with rival A. Harris and became known as Massey-Harris Co. Ltd., exporting farming equipment worldwide to such places as the Ukraine and France, as these 1911 Massey-Harris catalogues indicate. It was at this time the largest manufacturer of its kind in the British Empire.

Massey-Harris also became a leader in tractor technology. In 1953, efforts in this area culminated in a strategic merger with Harry Ferguson, the eccentric Irish genius who developed the Ferguson system. This was a vital new technoligical innovation that allowed tractors to operate much more efficiently. The name of the firm was changed to Massey-Ferguson and, under this new banner, it continued to be a world leader in the production of agricultural machinery.

Today the name Massey is still synonymous with agricultural machinery. Reorganized in 1986 under the Varity Corporation, the tractor division of Massey-Ferguson still sells tractos and agricultural machinery all over the globe.

The old Newcastle Works, east of Toronto, as printed from an old sterotype view. These shops were totally destroyed by fire in 1864.

In other ways, too, the Massey family has enriched Canadian life. The Masseys strongly believe in giving something back to their country. Hart Massey personally endowed many charitable organizations. He built Massy Hall and the Fred Victor Mission in Toronto and in his will established the Massey Foundation which endowed the University of Toronto's Hart House and Massey College.

The last Masseys to be associated with the company were Daniel's great-grandsons Vincent and Raymond. Each chose to pursue other careers: Vincent, a diplomat, climaxed his career by becoming the first Canadian-born Governor-General; Raymond, an actor, became one of Canada's most outstanding stars of screen and stage. Both contributed in their own way to the family's legacy.