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HANDS in Aston, Handsworth, Ladywood and ???

Sorry, on the way out, but try putting "Ebenezer HANDS", with quotes in to Google and with and without Birmingham. Either there were two Ebenezers in the trade, one in London and one in Birmingham or one moved. Or perhaps the name went through several generations. There's a nice Pathe News film to look at. You will have to document everything very carefully so that you can prove what is going on.

There are some trees on the Internet that are likely to be your line. However, do repeat the research and draw your own conclusions. There are a lot of people who guess.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike. I am very careful with research and check all thoroughly. Ebenezer Hands and extended family moved back and forth to London, Brum and even Manchester with gun trade. There are several generations of Ebenezers, too. Will have a look at the Pathe News. Ta muchly, Grannygrunt
 
I take it the years were date of birth
From directories. The date is the publication date and actual date of information will be slightly before this. Not sure if the shopkeeper Ebeneezer is same, but its not a particularly common name. Possibly his wife ran the business or his son ( Ebeneezer junior?):
1855 Hands Ebenezer, gun stocker, 27 Loveday st; home court 6, Loveday St
1856 Hands Ebenezer, gun stocker, 9 Princip St (According to Post office directory,)
1858 Hands Ebenezer, gun stocker, court 18, Princip st; home 9 Lench St
1862 Hands Ebenezer gun stocker 9 Lench St
1862 Hands Ebenezer junior gun stocker 13 Lench St
No mention in 1867 or 1868
1872 Hands Ebenezer, shopkeeper, 193 Farm street
1873 Hands Ebenezer, confectioner, 193 Farm street
1873 Hands Ebenezer, gun stocker, bk. 19, Whittall street ;Home 5 Phillips St Aston
1876-84 Hands Ebenezer, shopkeeper, 193 Farm street
1876-83 Hands Ebenezer, gun stocker, 33½ Lench street
Nothing 1888 or after
Could find no Jpseph Hands after 1895 associated with the gun trade
 
Just wondering whether you have my gggrandmother Elizabeth Hands in your tree, Elizabeth was born Bromsgrove 1833. Elizabeth’s father was Joseph Hands born 5.11.1804 Hanbury, Worcestershire, died 1875 Birmingham.
Joseph Hands married Mary Freeman in 1826. Mary died of TB on 10 January 1854 Wardens Buildings, Steward Street, Ladywood and in 1865 Joseph married Mary Stanley who also lived in Wardens Buildings with her husband Richard (working chemist) on 1861 census, I presume Richard dies between 1861 census and 1865 remarriage.
Elizabeth’s siblings were Mary 1832, George 1835 and William1841.
My Hands’ family were living in Wardens Buildings, Steward Street on the 1841 (labourer), 1851 (colour maker) and 1861 (working chemist) censuses and in 1871 (colour maker) was living at 3 Hands Buildings, Steward Street, Ladywood.
Elizabeth married Samuel Butler end of 1854 in Aston and had a daughter Mary Ann Butler born 1859 in Birmingham. Samuel died in the summer of 1859 and Elizabeth married James Eccles (my gggrandfather) on 12 February 1860. I have them living at 6 Richmond Terrace, Gt Francis Street, where James is a rulemaker on the 1861 census. Elizabeth had a son Joseph in 1861 (my ggrandfather) and dies in 1862 Aston aged 29.
I have no idea what a colourmaker or a working chemist is, but Elizabeth’s son Joseph married Lavinia Murcott who had family connections to the gun business in Birmingham.

Bewdley
 
Hi bewdley,

Sorry not my HANDS, but I do know about them. Well they might be mine, it would take a male line DNA test to prove, as I have failed to find the connection. Equally I can't disprove them either. The HANDS (pleural - for there are two marriages ) of Hanbury are on the edge of where my HANDS have lived from around 1700; Redditch Tardebigge, Bromsgrove.

Health warning: There are some Internet trees of this family around that are utter garbage. The trees do not fit the known facts.

Your Joseph, 1804, was the eldest of 6 children born to William HANDS, widower, and Ann PHILPOT, who married, by license, on 7th July 1804, in Hanbury. I'll let you do the maths! lol



In 1813 in Hanbury, John HANDS married Mary PHILPOT. Again O.T.P. And the witnesses were........William Hands and Ann HANDS. Now that is not going to be a coincidence. The relationship between the two HANDS is unknown, as is the one between the PHILPOTs

When I have a moment I'll try and find where you have some relatives. I have come to a dead stop several times over this. However, I do have a candidate, just missing the evidence.

Must dash

Wine Lover
 
Hi Wine Lover

Thanks for your reply.

I must say that I have to agree with you about some of the trees on Ancestry, I think people just want to see their tree growing and don’t think about whether they have the correct branches on it, rather like grafting an Apple to a Geranium; it just isn’t going to work!

Because of this I am building a new (private) tree now, I know some members have their own opinions about this, but so many times others have plagiarised my research and taken my Certificates etc when they are not in any way connected to their tree and then Ancestry keep offering hits with trees which have nothing to do with me grrrrrrr it drives me crazy (I don’t mind if there is a genuine connection and welcome interest from others). Now I’m very aware of being misled by trees which appear to hold members of my family but inevitably takes me more time untangling it all.

Anyway, rant over. I am eagerly awaiting the opening of the Hive in Worcester so I can do more research into the Hands of Hanbury and tie it up with what I already have. You never know we may have a common ancestor; in fact, I would put a bet on it if I was a betting person, as my mum is a (red) wine lover too!!
Bewdley
 
Bewdley slightly off the Hands thread. On my ancestry tree, someone has taken a photo of my grandparents (Taylor) and put in on their tree and their Taylor is nothing to do with mine. Its very frustrating. I have emailed them through Ancestry and told them this, but its still there.
 
Hi Carolina, I wish I had realised this before I uploaded my docs/photographs when my tree was public, but I didn’t, and they are all floating around in the ether now for anyone to take as they wish.

I personally would never take anything from another tree unless I emailed with my connection first to check it is ok to take the info and naively thought that others would be checking their research before merging trees, but it seems some genealogists think bigger trees are better than correct ones!

I too have emailed other Ancestry members and painstakingly explained how my ancestor can’t be theirs, but they still leave them on their tree along with certificates etc and on one occasion the person I emailed agreed with me that a mistake had been made and took my ancestor and the 3x BMD certificates off their tree, but not before someone else had taken them so the situation just seems to snowball out of control.

Such a shame really because now my tree is private it prevents a genuine person from sharing my info and if someone emails me with a possible connection I am very reluctant to reveal anything to them, once bitten....

Hey ho Bewdley
 
Bewdley, perhaps we should download photos of Elvis or The Queen to our site and see who else thinks they are related?? What a laugh that would be.
 
William Hands marriage to Ann Philpot, Hanbury, 7 January 1804

Hi Wine Lover

I have been revisiting my Hands documents and have found a copy of the above Hanbury parish record marriage certificate. It definitely says January not July as you said in your post #44, I can email you a copy for your records if you let me have your email address.

Cheers bewdley
 
Hi All,

Very late to the party but have been extensively researching my family, my mothers' grandmother being Hands. The Hands family in more recent times were based in Aston,Amy Hands my great grandmother (born 1898). Her father was Albert William Joseph Hands, and following the line up William Hands (1841), brother of Elizabeth. William's grandparents were William and Ann Philpotts. Would be great to connect with anyone with any connections.

Cheers,
Hughesyo
 
UPDATE!
**********Please see below, post #57. I explain how I have found details of my great-grandfather and his final resting place. Thank you to those of you who gave me some tips. If anyone remembers his son, Bert East Hands (see further down this post) or Bert's daughter Jill M Hands, born in Smethwick, Staffordshire in 1938 and who I believe married Brian G Hewitt in 1950 in Birmingham. If they have children and/or grandchildren, I'd love to make contact.**********

Hello all, as a newcomer to this forum, I realise the post I'm replying to is somewhat dated so I apologise if what I have to add is now moot. I am a Hands descendant. I have been very frustrated putting together my Mum's family tree because there seemed to be a preponderance of 'Hands' in the Middlesex area in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Who knew it was such a popular surname?
My great-grandfather was Jeremiah John Hands, b. 1883 and variously known as John Jeremiah (the same as his father, born in 1855), Jeremiah and John. Not my most helpful dead relative in terms of finding information about him, I have to say!
He married Dorothy Mildred Young in 1908. He was in 1 Leicestershire Regiment at Shorncliffe (where everyone went, I'm led to believe) but that came from their marriage certificate. JJ and Dorothy's youngest child, Bert East Hands, was born in 1910 and Dorothy, by then widowed, re-married Ernest Harold Lewis in 1918. I am verging on desperate to find out what happened to Jeremiah John - he is such a mystery!
I came to Australia with my parents in 1962 so it's taken over 55 years for me to get the genealogy bug. I'm no spring chicken so, naturally, my predecessors have - well, predeceased.
Also, my Great-Uncle Bert ran a confectioners/tobacconist in Small Heath (well, that's where he lived). He lost his leg in the mid-30s when he was a merchant seaman. Ring any bells? He also had a daughter, Jill, who may still be living. I'd love to find out and make contact.
 
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First thought with the dates given is, could he have died in the First World War? I can't see a record on the CWGC site though.
 
Hi MWS. I presume my great-grandfather died during WW1, yes but like you; I can find no information about his death. Indeed, there seems to be no record of him after the birth of my great uncle in 1910.
The tale in our family is that my great-grandmother went to collect a payment due after Jeremiah John died but was unable because, according to the clerk, his wife had already collected it! Seeing as my great grandmother was his wife, we all think this is mildly scandalous and of course, want to know more! ;)
 
I have a Mary Ann Hands, born circa 1826, Shrewsbury. Father William, a Carrier. Mary married Frederick Hill in 1844 in Aston - they both gave Duddeston as their address. Frederick was a Jappanner at the time but went on to be a stained glass cartoonist trained by, and working with, A W N Pugin the architect.
 
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE MR AND MRS HANDS OF SPRINGFIELD STREET LADYWOOD BIRMINGHAM 18
THEY LIVED THERE FOR DONKEYS YEARS AND THEY WAS A VERY OLD COUPLE
LIVED MOST OF THERE LIVES AND THEY WAS THERE UP UNTIL MY KNOWLEDGE AS I KNOW THEY WAS THERE IN
THE FIFTYS PERIODS IF NOT LONGER
SPRINGFIELD STREET WAS ONE STREET AWAY FROM SPRINGFIELD STREET
THEY MAY HAVE BEEN FAMILY CONNECTIONS
MAY BE ONE OF THE MEMBERS ON THE FORUM MAY DO A CHECK TO VERYIFY THE CHRISTIAN NAMES OF THIS COUPLE NAMED HANDS OF SPRINGFIELD STREET LADYWOOD BIRMINGHAM 18 FOR THE 50,S PERIOD
AND THERE WAS A DEATH OF A MR HANDS AT THE OLD FOLKS HOME
NAMELY SUMMER HILL OLD PEOPLES SONS OF REST WHOM WAS MURDERED BY THE SURERINTENDANT
THERE LADYWOOD AGAIN, ASTONIAN,,,,,
 
I found him! There was nothing about my great-grandfather, [Jeremiah] John Hand's death in England because he went to France; missing presumed dead.
Once I dug a little deeper and became a bit more creative with my search, I discovered that the young man - father of my beautiful grandmother, pictured - died at the Somme on 1 July, 1916. He was no scoundrel, either. I have also tracked down his final payment record and yes, another Mrs Hands DID collect it...his mother. She was recorded on his enlistment record, which wasn't changed once he got married. I feel guilty for presuming he'd done a runner or was a bit of a scoundrel. In fact, he fought for his country in the 1st Battalion of the Kings Own Lancashire Regiment and is a soldier, lost. He is memorialised at Triepval Memorial in Picardy France.
Now, Great Uncle Bert....what did you get up to? There can't have been too many one-legged confectioner/tobacconists in Small Heath during the 40s and 50s. I know what happened to cause you to lose your leg in the navy in the mid-30s. I know you were repatriated and began a new life but I want to know what happened with Violet Jenkins. Was it you?
 
First thought with the dates given is, could he have died in the First World War? I can't see a record on the CWGC site though.
Thanks MWS, I came unstuck with the CWGC site, too to begin with. In the end, I traced my g-grandfather's inscription through that site and very relieved I was, too. Many thanks for looking.
 
Have found this out so far, I’m sure someone else will find more.

1935 Electoral roll Bert East Hands is living at 194 Arthur Street with his wife Hilda Hands, nee Groves, Marion Etty Hulse and Alfred Taplin.


Bert married Hilda GrOves March quarter 1935 Birmingham 6d 481.


Jill M Hands is born March quarter 1938 Smethwick 6b 1181 MMN GrAves


Hilda died Dec quarter 1940 aged 33, Birmingham 6d 906


Bert remarries in September quarter 1941 to Agnes J Whetton. Birmingham 6d 1429


1950 Electoral roll Bert and Agnes are at 324 Green Lane, Saltley Ward, Birmingham.


1955 Electoral roll they were at 20 Bolton Road, Small Heath Ward.


I've copied the electoral rolls for him here;
1931 Edgbaston Bert East Hands 211 COURT OAK ROAD P/J. 115326 A.B., R.N.
1932 Edgbaston Bert East Hands 211 COURT OAK ROAD P/J. 115326 A.B,., R.N.
1933 Edgbaston Bert East Hands 211 COURT OAK ROAD R/J. 115326 A.B., R.N.
1935 Deritend St Bartholomews Bert East Hands 194 ARTHUR STREET
1939 Kings Norton Kings Norton Bert East Hands 50 SHERINGHAM ROAD
1947 Sparkbrook Balsall Heath Bert E Hands 116 MARY STREET
1950 Small Heath Saltley Bert E Hands 324 GREEN LANE
1952 District Gravelly Hill Bert Hands 74 MOUNT STREET
1955 Small Heath Small Heath Bert Hands 20 BOLTON ROAD
1957 Small Heath Small Heath Bert E Hands 20 BOLTON ROAD
1960 Handsworth Lozells Bert E Hands 91 MANSFIELD ROAD

There is a thread on here which refers to 324 Green Lane being a confectioners https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/hands-green-lane.40224/

There are several "Hands" children born Birmingham with MMN Groves on Free BMD.
 
Help with another "Hands" brick wall please.

I am trying to find a connection between someone who is named on the burial record of my 3x maternal grandmother Mary Hands (nee Freeman). Mary was born 1805 at Bromsgrove to Abraham and Ann Freeman (nee Houseman).

I have attached a copy of the entry and the heading on the page for clarity.

Mary married Joseph Hands born Hanbury on 5 November 1803 to William and Ann Hands (nee Philpot).

Joseph and Mary married at St Philips Birmingham on 13 February 1826 and settled in Steward Street, Ladywood.

Mary was buried at Key Hill on January 15th 1854 grave number 76A.

The person named on the burial record is Richard Newell. I have found Richard living in Steward Street with wife Sarah and family. I searched the births of their children on the GRO for his wife’s maiden name and she was Sarah Hands. “Hooray” I thought she is one of Joseph and Mary’s children that I haven’t discovered due to being born before 1837 and no baptism found, yet, but on her marriage cert to Richard at St Peters and St Pauls Aston on April 21st 1839 she gives her father’s name as William Hands occupation cordwainer.

On the 1851 Sarah is 31 so born 1820 ish and gives her place of birth as Bromsgrove.

Joseph didn’t die until 1875 and is buried at Key Hill too grave number 177A.

I’m hoping that someone on here may be researching the William Hands family and may be able to throw some light on this. If not I’d be grateful if anyone has some time to take a look at this brick wall for me; I’ve been at it all day on and off and my brain is scrambled yet still I can’t find a connection apart from the surname.

Thanks bewdley
 

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