Not all ancestors are represented on this page. 

As research continues, additional ancestors and documentation will be included.

Early roots of the ​​MASSEY branch (also spelled Mosse and Masse) of our family tree date back to approximately 1788 with the birth of our 4X Great Grandfather, Joseph Massey (Mossey) in Beauport, Quebec, Canada. We do not know, as yet, who Joseph's parents were or from where they originally came. Joseph was baptized in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada at Ste-Genevieve Church.

Joseph served at Fort Belle Fontaine near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis. Originally a Spanish military post, Belle Fontaine became a fur trading post of the U.S. government after the Louisiana Purchase. From 1809 -1826 it served as a U.S. military fort and was a regional headquarters during the War of 1812.

Joseph was stationed at Belle Fontaine during 1810, 1811 and six months into 1812. It is possible that he may have accompanied General Zebulon Pike on several early exploratory expeditions. His term of service ended just as the War of 1812 began. While there, he corresponded with the Preston family at Cape St. Combs (Cape Cinque Hommes) in Missouri. On August 13, 1812, Joseph Massey married Sarah Preston, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Preston of Virginia, at Cape Cinque Hommes, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.

Joseph's name appears as Mosse in colonial records in the Upper Louisiana (Ste. Genevieve, Missouri) area where he was stationed between 1808 and July 1812.

The first member of the Massey branch of our family tree to arrive in Perry County, Missouri, highlighted in red, was our 3X Great Grandmother, Mary Venecia Massey.