The Messenger

Gravestones
Capt. David Messenger
1760 ~ 1811
Hannah Higley Messenger
1758 ~ 1815
Presented to the Granville Cemetery Board
Monday, January 25, 2016

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger
My mother and I first visited Granville on a summer vacation in 1972 on
our way from Iowa to visit family in the east. At the time, she had been
researching her ancestors for a few years and we came to Granville in search
of the graves of her four-times great grandparents, David Messenger and
Hannah Higley. With the help of someone who knew the cemetery well,
we were able to locate the graves and she took these pictures photos
that some 40 years later, would be invaluable in this project.

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger
B A C KG ROUN D :

As I mentioned, David Messenger was a Revolutionary War soldier:

 June 3, 1775: Enlisted at Becket [he was not quite sixteen], as a Private. 
He served in Capt. Malcolm Henrys company, Col. David Brewers 
9th Massachusetts regiment, served during the Siege of Boston; 
Service: 2 months, 4 days; order for a bounty coat or its equivalent 
in money, dated Roxbury, December 23, 1775*
Served under Capt. Samuel Hays company, Conn. 18th militia regiment,
commanded by Jonathan Pettibone. Arrived New York, 22 Aug 1776,
discharged, 25 Sep 1776. Service time [incl 7 days marching, 6 days
return], 1 month, 17 days. Wages/month: s40. Wages paid: L3/S2/D8**
David Messenger was also one of the early settlers of Licking County.
In April, 1804, he was one of 35 who signed and paid $8 to form
the Scioto Land Company which became the Licking Land Company.
He brought his whole family to Granville, his wife and their eight children.
He was among the first to receive a deed for land, purchasing 500 acres
in December, 1805. He served as a grand juror, a supervisor of highways
and played a hautboy in the eleven-member township band.
He died at the very young age of 51.

* Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Rebellion, page 694
** Connecticut Militia pay abstract, source: Fold3
The History of Granville, Licking County, Ohio, pp 60, 83-84, 96

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger
HO W THIS P RO J ECT B E G AN :

In September, 2011, a genealogy friend who was visiting Granville

agreed to take pictures of the graves for me. This is when I found out that
the stones were no longer standing. However, through her photos, I wasnt
without hope because I saw pieces of broken stone on the ground.
This led me to write some emails and make some phone calls and
eventually I made the e-acquaintance of Lyn Boone who helped me to
realize that the shards I had seen were actually pieces of Hannahs stone.
She and her husband did an initial excavation of the site on June 16, 2013
and one week later I drove over from St. Louis to meet Jim and Minxie
Fannin. We did a 2nd excavation on June 21, 2013 and were able to find an
additional shard. These pieces, along with Charles Bryants 1886
transcription record, helped to document Hannahs stone for certain.

CURRENT CONDITIONS
From left, David Messenger, his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger and their son, Campbell Messenger

For more information, visit the Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/David-and-Hannah-Messenger-1428723824056913/
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Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger
T H E P RO P OSAL :

To recreate the original stones as faithfully as possible.


I have secured a quality monument company, Columbus Art Memorial to
do the work and I will personally oversee all work from the shape of the
stone to the engraving of the inscription
The chosen material is a gray granite. It is selected for its durability and
because it will blend in well with the current context of the cemetery. The
exact same material was used on the entrance to Dennison University,
created by Columbus Art Memorial a few years ago (see page 6)
The stones will be installed as they would have been originally, in a mortise
and tenon set-up (see page 9)
The stones were professionally measured by Jim and Minxie Fannin and
will be recreated to those exact measurements (see page 7)
Using Charles Bryants 1886 transcription record, the wording will be
engraved exactly as it was, including the misspelling of Mesinger on
Hannahs stone (see page 8 )
Using the shards of Hannahs stone found during the two excavations, 
the font style on those shards will be recreated as faithfully as possible 
(see page 8 )

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger

CURRENT CONDITIONS: C. MESSENGER CURRENT

HEADSTONE
CONDITIONS: C. MESSENGER HEADSTONE
THREE HEADSTONES
1973 IMAGE1973
SHOWING
IMAGEALL
SHOWING
THREE ALL
HEADSTONES
THREE HEADSTONES
CURRENT CONDITIONS: C. MESSENGER HEADSTONE
MESSENGER, C. MESSENGER
L TO R: D. MESSENGER,
L TO R: D. MESSENGER,
H. MESSENGER,
H. MESSENGER,
C. MESSENGER
C. MESSENGER

CURRENT CONDITIONS:
CURRENT CONDITIONS:
C. MESSENGER
C. MESSENGER
HEADSTONE
HEADSTONE

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger

2 1/2"

2 1/2"

1'-7"

1'-7"

2 1/2"

2 1/2"
3"

3"
2 1/4"

2 1/4"

1'-5"

1'-5"

2 1/4"

2 1/4"
3 1/2"

3 1/2"
3"

3"

3 1/2"
3"

3 1/2"

5"

5"

5"

2'-2 3/4"
3'-2 3/4"

2'-2 3/4"

1 1/2" - 1'-0"
ENGER

ESTIMATED

6"

6"

FIN. GRADEFIN. GRADE

1 DAVID
1/2" - 1'-0" DAVID
MESSENGER
MESSENGER
1 1/2" - 1'-0"
HANNAH MESSENGER

1 1/2" - 1'-0"1 MESSENGER

1/2" - 1'-0"
1 1/2" - 1'-0"
HANNAH
HANNAH MESSENGER

STONE BASE

1 1/2"HANNAH
- 1'-0"
HANNAH
MESSENGER
MESSENGER
CAMPBELL MESSENGER
FOR REFERENCE

1 1/2" - 1'-0"1 1/2" - 1'-0"

CAMPBELL
MESSENGER
CAMPBELL MESSENGER
1 1/2" - 1'-0"
FOR REFERENCE

FOR REFERENCE

NOTE: ALL NOTE:

DIMENSIONS
ALL DIMENSIONS
ESTIMATEDESTIMATED

s tudio durham

STONES
HEADSTONES
VAN
VAN
DYKE
DYKE
HEADSTONES
HEADSTONES
7
1 1/2" = 1'-0"

22 JULY 2013

6"

6"
6"

2'-6"

6"

2'-6"

3'-2 3/4"

2'-2 3/4"
3'-2"

3'-2"
2'-6"

2'-6"

6"

MARBLE BASE

6"

2'-6"

3'-2 3/4"

2'-2 3/4"
3'-2 3/4"

3'-2"

3'-8"

3'-2"

3'-2"

3'-2"

3'-8"

5"

5"

3"

3"

4"
3'-2"
3'-2"

2"

4"

2"

1'-5"

3'-2"

2"

1'-5"

2 1/4"

4"

4"

2"

1'-5"

ARCHITECTS

1 1/2" = 1'-0"

1 1/2" = 1'-0"

1 1/2" = 1'-0"
1 1/2" = 1'-0"

22 JULY 2013

22 JULY 2013

22 JULY 2013
22 JULY 2013

1 1/

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger

ABOVE: ife of from the end of the third line, wife of

AT LEFT: Sac from the word Sacred, the first line of
the inscription.

Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger
Detail of the mortise and tenon stone installation from vendor.

Stone will be purchased through Columbus Art Memorial.

They will also engrave and install the stones.
Columbus Art Memorial
606 West Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 432215 614 221 2726
Contact: Carmine Menduni, president
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Formal request to faithfully recreate the headstones of

Revolutionary War soldier Capt. David Messenger

and his wife, Hannah Higley Messenger

Thank you for your time and attention to this project 

which is so important to me. Not only will it be a way for me 
to honor my five-times great grandparents, but this is a project 
that my mother and I discussed many times.
Though she did not live to see it completed (she died 
in February, 2015 at the age of 97) I honor her memory as well and
I believe she would be very pleased that this project was finished.