CHAPTER 2 HAND STORY MANUSCRIPT

THE HAND FAMILY STORY
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CHAPTER 2

THE HAND FAMILY MOVES TO ILLINOIS

There is no firm historical confirmation of the HAND family ever having been in New Jersey such as a will, tax, birth or church record. The first documentation of the HAND family is with the son of DANIEL and ELIZABETH HAND, THOMAS LEE HAND, noted in the 1850 ILLINOIS CENSUS, Sangamon County. THOMAS LEE HAND was 26 years old, a farmer and born in New Jersey. If THOMAS was 26 years old, at the time of the census, then his birth date must have been 1824 and not 1820 as the family record indicates. This census record is the only known confirmation of his birth place that exists. His wife, AMANDA, is listed as 46 years old [an error] and her place of birth is unlisted. Also listed in COURTLAND HAND, 11 years old, and his birthplace is unlisted.

With the appearance of THOMAS LEE HAND in the 1850 ILLINOIS CENSUS, we encounter one of the largest mysteries in the HAND history. Why did THOMAS LEE HAND move from New Jersey to Illinois? Did his parents move? Did he have brothers or sisters? Did he go alone? Did he know people in Illinois? What route did he take? These questions will probably remain speculative, as no one in the family is known to have any information regarding this period in the HAND chronology.

THE HAND FAMILY
A SPECULATION
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ELIAS HAND was born around 1770 in Cape May county, New Jersey. He married there a MISS SAYRE. Her first name was almost certainly ELIZABETH. The date of their marriage is unknown at the present time. ELIAS and ELIZABETH had four children while living in New Jersey:

1. MARIA - married, in Illinois, JOHN ROBINSON, son of W.S.B. ROBINSON. Sometime later they moved to Minnesota.

2. ELIZABETH - born in New Jersey and married in Sangamon County, Illinois to FRANKLIN BRADLEY. They had one son, FRANK, who was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and in 1873 lived in Davisville, Michigan. FRANKLIN BRADLEY died September 14, 1845 and ELIZABETH then married JOHN G. RANSOM. ELIZABETH and JOHN G. RANSOM had seven children. Two children died young and the other five were, AUGUSTA E., EMMA, CHARLES, JOHN E., and MARIA T.

3. JESSE - married MARY HAGIN and lived in New Jersey.

4. DANIEL - died at age thirty years.

ELIAS HAND, along with his wife, moved to Sangamon County, Illinois and arrived there on May 30, 1838. ELIAS HAND died in November of 1856, and ELIZABETH HAND died in 1869 at age eighty-seven.

It is very likely that ELIAS HAND was the father of our DANIEL HAND. When ELIAS HAND moved to Illinois in 1838, THOMAS LEE HAND accompanied his grandfather on the journey because his father, DANIEL, had died sometime previously, at the age of 30. The 1840 ILLINOIS CENSUS list ELIAS HAND only one farm away from WILLIAM SENARD, a very important note that will become evident later. What happened to DANIEL'S wife and THOMAS LEE'S mother, ELIZABETH, is unknown. Perhaps she lived with family in New Jersey, remarried or also died young. It is most certain that she did not move to Illinois with her son, THOMAS LEE HAND.

The 1850 NEW JERSEY CENSUS contains a listing for a JESFE HAND who, it would appear, could be the brother of DANIEL HAND and son of ELIAS HAND. Note that his name is spelled in the census with the colonial "f" that was used for the "s" sound. JESSE HAND had a wife by the name of KETURAH?, at least the name is not MARY [HAGIN]. The most interesting part about this listing are the names given to his children:
DANIEL
GEORGE
JAMES
ELIAS
ELIZA
Three of the names, DANIEL, ELIAS and ELIZA[beth] are the same as his probable brother, father and sister. In addition, he is living next to a very wealthy merchant by the name of THOMAS LEE. It could very well be that THOMAS LEE HAND was named after this individual, THOMAS LEE. Perhaps he was a family friend or was related to the HAND family in some manner. The will of THOMAS LEE provides no clues to this speculation, but the coincidences found in this particular listing are very interesting.

THOMAS LEE HAND removed from New Jersey and appeared in Illinois by 1850, had a wife AMANDA and a son COURTLAND. Who was AMANDA and who was COURTLAND? The SINNARD family will be introduced in the next chapter.

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