Early Life
Massey was born in 1856 into a farming family, and grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry in Ireland. His father John Massey and his mother Marianne (or Mary Anne) Ferguson were tenant farmers who also owned a small property. His family moved to New Zealand in 1869, although Bill Massey himself remained in Ireland for a further year to complete his education. After arriving in New Zealand, Massey worked as a farmhand for some years before acquiring his own farm in 1877. In 1882 Massey married his neighbour's daughter, Christina Allen Paul (died 1932). The couple had seven children.
Read more about this topic: William Massey
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