Bert was the first born son of Michael Francis Messinger and Mary Margaret Davis (Messinger).  He grew up in Laurel Oregon and on June 19, 1904 he married Alice Belle Cummings and they moved to Hillsboro, Oregon which is located a few miles to the North of Laurel.  Hillsboro would later become the birth place for all of his children.  On March 1, 1920 Bert passed away at the age of 40 from complications due to the Flu.  On the very same day, sister, Bertha Dora Messinger (Nasmyth) gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Edna May Nasmyth.  He was laid to rest at the Mt. Olive Cemetery in Laurel where his wife Alice would later join him.