Our Family Legacy
Picture of the Handy Coat of Arms can be seen here.
The Name of Handy is of English origin and probably is derived from the nickname "the handy" referring to the expert, ready, or attentive character of its first bearers. In ancient English and early American records it is found in the various forms of Hendy, Hahney, Hendey, Henty, Handye, Handy, and others. Of these, the last is the spelling most frequently used in America in modern times.
Early seated in English Counties of Oxford, Your, and Norfolk, as well as on the city and environs of London, the family of the name belonged, generally speaking, to the yeomanry of Great Britain.
The earliest definite records of the family in England include those of Thomas le Hendy, John le Hendy, and Robert le Hendy, all three of whom were living in the county of Norfolk in the year 1273.
Under the year 1340 the name of Robert Handy appears on the English "Close Rolls." Nothing further is however known of these early lines.
According to some historians, Johannis Hende, whose widow Margareta was living in Yorkshire in 1379, was of the same family. His name, here given in its Latinized form, would, therefore, have been John Handy. There was also a John Hende or Hendy who was Lord Mayor of London in 1391.
Humphrey Handedy or Handy, a blacksmith, was living near St. Mary Somerset, in London, and was married about 1602 or 1603 to Mary, daughter of John Ramsey, Visar of the Cathedral Church of St. Pauls, in London.
Later records of the family at London include those of the Widow Sara Handy, of St. Mary Somerset, who was married in 1676 to William Blunt; those of William Handy, who was married in 1792 to Mary Goode; and those of Thomas Handy, who was married in 1793 to Sarah Hodges.
The exact connections between the family in England and he first of the names to come to America are not in evidence, the early cords being almost entirely of a fragmentary nature.
Probably the first of the names in America was Samuel Handy, who came from England to this country in the early seventeenth century, possibly as early as 1635, and settled in Somerset county, Md. In that vicinity he died in 1721, according to tradition considerably more than one hundred years of age. He was a planter and owned extensive properties at Annes Essex, in Somerset County. By his wife, Jane Sowall, whom he married in 1679, Samuel, William Thomas, Jane, Jonathan, Rachel, John, Pricilla, Ebenezer, Stephen, Isaac, and Benjamin. The records of all of the sons of the immigrant Samuel are not, however, at hand.
John Handy, son of the first Samuel, married the widow Windor and was the father by her of Captain Charles Handy, of Newport, R. I., as well as of nine other children, whose names are not in evidence.
Paul Handy, who was born (parentage unknown) at Smithfield, R. I. in 1737, was undoubtedly a descendant of the last-mentioned line. He removed in early life to Richmond, N. H., where he left issue by his wife Ann of Elizabeth, Lucy, Dinah, Margaret, George, Prudence, and Lilles.
George Handy, only son of Paul, was married in 1797 to Ruth kEstes, by whom he was the father of fourteen children, Rufus, Paul, James H., Welcome, Lois, George, Polly, Benjamin, Henry, Hosea, Benoni, Maria, Stephen, and Ruth. Of the last mentioned brothers, Paul settled at Fitswillyam, N. H.; Welcome removed to Danby, Vt. and Henry and Hosea made their homes in New York State.
Stephen Handy, who was born, probably at Surrillville, R. I., in the latter eighteenth century, was another descendant of John Handy, son of the immigrant Samuel, but the exact connection is not in evidence. This Stephen married Deborah Ballou before 1814 and had issue by her of Sarah, Colinda, Esther Wood, Amey Ann, George David, Russell, and John.
Ebenezer Handy, son of the immigrant Samuel, resided in Somerset County, Md., and married Betty Dashiell, of that place. Their children were Mary, Benjamin, Robert, Elizabeth, and John.
Major Benjamin, son of Ebenezer and Betty, first married Priscilla, Daughter of Captain John Handy, whose son, Dr. Harte Handy, practiced medicine in Georgia. By his second wife, Elizabeth Martin, Major Benjamin had further issue of Benjamin, James, Levin George Matthias, William, and several daughters who died young.
Of the last mentioned brothers, Benjamin died unmarried in 1774; James married Margaret, daughter of Colonel James Martin, and was the father by her of Margaret and George, of whom the latter settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; Levin married Nancy Wilson and died in 1799, leaving issue of four daughters, Priscilla, Sarah, Ester, and Eliza, of whom the first married her first cousin, Samuel Handy, son of William Handy, of Indian Town, in Worcester County, Md.; George (a Colonel in the Revolutionary War) was the father by his wife, Elizabeth Wilson, of George, Samuel K., Levin, Alexander H., and John, of whom the last two were prominent in Mississippi; Matthies removed to Johnson County, N. C., and was a distinguished lawyer and congressman but died without issue, while William died in early youth.
Captain John Handy, son of Ebenezer and Betty, settled in Worcester County, Md., and married Mary Allen, of the Eastern Shore. To this union were born three children, Patience, John, and Ebenezer. The descendants of this line are thought to have settled, in many cases, in Virginia, but the records are not complete.
Possibly the descendants of the last-mentioned lines included William Handey or Handy who was living in New Kent County, Va., in 1704; John Handy, who was living in Pennsylvania County, Va., before 1767; John Handy, of Henry County Va., in 1777; and George Handy, of Frederick County, Va., whose will is dated 1782. These records are, however, only fragmentary.
Colonel Isaac Handy, son of the immigrant Samuel, was the father f at least one son, Henry, who married Jane, daughter of Captain William Windor, and was the father by her of Dr. William Windor Handy.
According to some historians, Colonel Isaac Handy, of the Revolutionary forces, came from Scotland to Maryland shortly before 1775 and settled in Somerset County. Probably, however, he was a member of the before mentioned Maryland line. His son, Edward Henry Handy, removed in the early nineteenth century to Ohio, but returned to Maryland and made his home at Baltimore.
Other branches of the family, whose connections, if any, with the above mentioned lines are not known, including those of William Handy, of Smithfield, Mass., who was the father by his wife Thankful of at least one son, Asa, who was born in 1795; those of James Handy, of Royalston, Mass., who was the father in the early nineteenth century of at least two sons, Martin and Josephus, both of whom resided at Swanzey, N. H.; and those of Captain Joseph Handy, of Prospect Harbor, Me., in the early nineteenth century.
The annals of the Handy family in America clearly indicate their ability to lead and direct others, their strength of mind and will, their fairness and good judgment, their piety, and their natural intelligence.
Of the family in the Revolutionary period, record has been found concerning Colonels George and Isaac Hany, of Maryland; Captain Joseph and Lieutenant George Handy, of R. I.; and Captain LEVIN Handy, of Maryland and Virginia. Others who served with the Revolutionary forces were Anthony and Charles Handy, of R. I.; Thomas Handy, of Virginia; Hugh, John, Samuel, Thomas, and William Handy (sometimes Handey), of Pennsylvania; Joseph and William Handy, of Maryland; and Benjamin, Caleb, Charles, Ebenezer, Edward, Elias, Elisha, Elna then, Freeman Gamaliel, James, Job, John, John Jr., Jonathan, Joseph, Levi, Paul, Richard, Russell, Salathielk Samuel, Silas, Thomas, William and Zaccheur Handy (also recorded, in some cases, as Handey and Hendy) of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
John, Samuel, Thomas, William, Benjamin, Stephen, Ebenezer, James, Isaac, Henry, Charles, Levin, Russell, and George are some of the male Christian names which have been handed from generation to generation in the Handy family.
Among those of the name who have been prominent in America in more recent times are:
Alexander Hamilton Handy (1809-1883), of
Maryland and Mississippi, Jurist.
The coat of arms of the English family of Handy is described as follows (Burke, Encyclopedia of Heraldry, 1884): Arms--"Argent, on a saltire gules between four lions' heads erased, sable, five mullets of the field." Crest--"Two arms in armour, embowed, holding a battle-axe, all proper."
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