Frederick was the 3rd of four children born to Grove Messenger and Pamelia Gibbons. His siblings: Adah, Eliza (died young) and William Henderson.

Frederick's parents were pioneer settlers of Granville, Ohio and came to that area the year before he was born. There was much settlement going on in those early days, but the area was still very wild. His father volunteered for military duty in the War of 1812 and was ultimately captured and eventually died as a POW in Montreal leaving his mother to raise Frederick and his brother and sister alone.

On 6 Jun, 1831 in Ohio, (more than likely in Licking County), Frederick married Jane Marie Johnson, daughter of Samuel Johnson and Mary Polly Wheeler who had moved to Licking County from Vermont.

Frederick farmed and he and Jane were the parents of twelve children: John Ecard, Clark, Mary Adelia, David Grove, Dennis Burris, Samuel Johnson, Royal Hastings, Virgil, twins Orlin and Rollin, Hyram and Martha Amelia. All except the last two were born in Ohio. Clark, Hyrum and Martha died young.

The couple most likely first lived in Knox Co., Ohio and they are found there in the 1840 census with four children; In 1850 they were living in Chester township, Morrow Co., Ohio with nine children. Shortly after this, Frederick moved the family to Wayne County, Iowa. We know this because his daughter, Mary, was married there in 1853 (one of the first marriages in the county according to the local newspaper).

He purchased Wayne County land in March and August of 1854 totaling 120 acres. He purchased 40 more acres in June, 1856. The land he purchased was in Union township, Section 23 equi-distant between New York on the west and Bethlehem on the east. His decision to purchase this particular land was probably in part to please his wife as their property abutted her sister's farm [Isaac and Lemira Van Ausdle] and it's probable the two families helped each other, especially after Isaac's untimely death in 1858.

With 160 acres to farm, Frederick probably had the help of his sons David and Dennis who were 16 and 15 respectively when the land was first purchased in 1854. Samuel, Royal and Virgil were 13, 11 and 9 at that time and were no doubt doing their share as well.

In 1860 Frederick and Jane have 6 children still living at home [Samuel, Royal, Virgil and twins Orlin and Rollin] and in 1870, just one child [Orlin] remained.

Frederick died on 8 Aug 1871 aged 61 years, 2 months and 28 days. He is buried in a row with four children and three grandchildren. His mother-in-law and sister-in-law are buried nearby.

--------------
Frederick's stone was found in a state of disrepair in 2014. Working with a local person who had knowledge of how to properly repair headstones, Frederick's stone was dug up and cleaned in October, 2015. In need of repairs that could not be done in the field, the stone was removed, cleaned, repaired and installed in the spring of 2016. Eight other stones in the Messenger plot were cleaned, repaired and righted during this same time.