John Messinger
John Messinger (January 4, 1771 – September 16, 1846) was an American pioneer, politician, teacher, and surveyor who was the first
Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Born in Massachusetts, Messinger was educated in Vermont and married the daughter of Matthew Lyon. He left with Lyon to Kentucky, but disagreed with his stance on slavery and came to the Indiana Territory in 1802. He served in the Indiana Territorial Legislature and advocated for the creation of the Illinois Territory. When the state of Illinois was created in 1818, he co-authored its constitution and served in its first General Assembly as Speaker of the House. Messinger was also a prominent surveyor, establishing what is now the state line between Illinois and Wisconsin on behalf of the U.S. government.[1]
Biography
John Messinger was born in
New Design in what is now Monroe County, Illinois.[1]
Messinger operated a gristmill on
cartographer, carpenter, cabinetmarker, and farmer. He surveyed most of St. Clair and Madison Counties. He was also commissioned to survey the military land between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. With Philip Creamer, Messinger opened a shop manufacturing surveyors' compasses.[1]
Messinger served in the Indiana Territorial legislature in 1808 and advocated for the creation of the
He published A Manual or Handbook of Practical Surveying in 1821. Messinger became a mathematics teacher at John Mason Peck's Rock Spring seminary in 1827. He fought in the Black Hawk War.
Messinger died on September 16, 1846.[1] He was buried in Messinger Cemetery in Swansea, Illinois.
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