The Hand Family

Alida Electa Hand is my great-great grandmother, the mother of Lizzie Whipple Brown. In this post I will share information about the Hand family.

John Hand (1611-1661) came to America in 1635, landing first in Lynn, Massachusetts, and then by 1644, moving to Long Island. He lived first in Southampton and then in East Hampton.

View of a farm in Richmond, Mass.

My fifth great-grandfather, Abraham (or Abram) Hand, was born in East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, on September 22, 1764. At some point he moved with his half-brother Daniel Hand to western Massachusetts, settling in Richmond, in Berkshire County. There he enlisted in the Continental Army in January 1781, when he was sixteen years old. He served in an artillery unit, mostly along the Hudson River, until October 1783. His discharge was signed by General Henry Knox, who is well-known to students of Revolutionary War history.

After the war, on October 21, 1784, Abraham married Mary West in Richmond. Mary was born in Tolland, Connecticut, on March 6, 1767. She was descended from Francis West, who was a resident of Duxbury in Plymouth Colony as early as 1640. Abraham and Mary had eight children. The third-born, Abner, was my fourth great-grandfather. He was named after his mother’s father, Abner West.

By the time of the United States census of 1790, Abraham and Mary were living in the town Rensselaerville, in Albany County, New York. They were still living there when the 1800 census was taken. By 1820 Abraham and Mary had moved to the town of Galen, in Wayne County, in west-central New York. They lived there until 1838, when they moved to Fitchville, in Huron County, Ohio, to be near three of their children and their families. Both Abraham and Mary were listed in the census of 1840. Both died later that year, Mary, on September 18, and Abraham on November 4.

Abraham Hand's discharge from Continental Army

We know quite a bit about Abraham because as a Revolutionary War veteran, he applied for a government pension provided by an Act of Congress in 1818. His first application was in 1819, when he was 54 years of age. The application stated that “he is in reduced circumstances and stands in need of the assistance of his country for support.” Apparently this application was rejected because Abraham had some property. In 1827 Abraham again applied for the pension. This application includes a “schedule” listing all of his property, along with the amounts he owes others and the amounts others owe him. According to the schedule, Abraham owned one cow, eleven sheep and six hogs. He owned a plough, an axe, a pitchfork and a shovel. Household items included three kettles and one pot, one tea kettle, and one stone jug. He owned two books. In the application he stated, “I am in reduced and indigent circumstances and unable to support myself without the assistance of government or the aid of public or private charity; that I have been thus indigent and reduced, since the year 1817-- that I am aged and infirm, being sixty-two years of age the twenty second day of September last past, and my health much impaired; that I have a wife aged sixty years, who is also oppressed with divers infirmities, that prevent her from doing but little slight and light work, and that the assistance of a hired servant is necessary to her constantly; that I have two grandchildren that I am bound to provide for and sustain, and who live with me, one of whom is about three years of age, and the other about seven years of age and I am a farmer by occupation.”

Abraham Hand's signature, 1827

Documents that accompanied the 1827 application indicate that in 1820 Abraham took out a mortgage for $500 and bought 180 acres of land in Galen. They also state that “shortly thereafter” Abraham was “embarrassed by misfortunes” and “lost the land.” Abraham is described as “poor & unfortunate but industrious and honest and of fair character as a man for truth and moral conduct.”

My fourth great-grandfather, Abner Hand, was born in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York on January 27, 1790. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, serving from August of 1812 until the following February, when he was discharged at Sackets Harbor, New York. He married Mary Ann Petteys on February 14, 1814, and they had several children, including my third great-grandfather (Abraham) Henry Hand. Abner's wife Mary Ann died on September 17, 1824. On May 20, 1825, he married Abigail Tuttle and together they had two children. Abner was a farmer, said to be 5 feet 8 inches in height, with dark hair, light grey eyes and a light complexion. According to one report, he had a still. In the census of 1850 he is listed as a “laborer.” He died on December 17, 1854.

I know very little about my third great-grandfather, (Abraham) Henry Hand. He was born about 1820 and is listed in the 1850 US census as having a wife Catherine, and two daughters, Alida Electa (my second great-grandmother) and Margaret Ann. His occupation is listed as “clerk.” By the 1860 census, it appears that both Henry and his wife had died. Alida Electa was then living in Rose, New York, with a farmer named Philander S. Lewis, his wife Ann, and their two children. Margaret Ann was living in Galen with a glass cutter named Daniel Watson and his wife Elizabeth.

Clearly our family's "Hand" roots are humble, but two "Hands" did serve their country. And although Abraham was reduced to seeking government aid, at least he was known as a man who was both "honest" and "industrious."