Charles Handy (abt. 1849 - 1939)

Born about 26 Oct 1849 in St. Agnes Bay, Florida [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Alice May (Rich) Handy — married about 1884 in Tompkins County, New York

Descendants

Died 10 Dec 1939 at about age 90 in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York

Biography

Charles Handy was born in Florida, possibly on October 26, 1849. His death certificate gives his birth as 1843 but that isn't consistent with the dates given on censuses throughout his life. Although the exact location is unknown, his death certificate says he was born at St. Agnes Bay, Florida. His father was Benjamin Handy, who was born in Danby, New York. ^{[1] [2]}

Charles first shows up in New York State in 1870, living with the Ferris family in Nichols, Tioga County, New York and working on their farm. He gave his age as 16, could neither read nor write, and was attending school. In 1880, he was working on the Mather farm in Moravia, New York. ^{[3] [4]}

So, who was Charles Handy? In April of 1992, Beatrice (Hill) Labar sat down to discuss Handy family history. ^[5] Beatrice was 76 years old at the time and living in Searsburg, Schuyler County, New York. She explained that she and her husband Robert LaBar had been in a bad accident 20 years earlier. A drunk driver hit them and Beatrice spent two years in the hospital, six months of it in a comma. Her tongue was cut and her legs were badly damaged and they were sure, if she lived, she would never talk or walk again. While in the hospital, she said her deceased grandfather would come to her and repeat, “Come Beatrice.” But, her deceased mother also appeared, saying “No Beatrice, you have something important to do.” After 20 years, she believed the important thing was helping her grandchildren. Although it was still difficult for her to speak, she was thrilled to talk about her grandparents, Charles and Alice Handy.

Her grandparents lived on the corner of Court and Fulton Street [323 N. Fulton] in Ithaca, New York, and later bought one house down [319 N. Fulton] so they could have a vegetable garden. Her grandmother, Alice, cleaned houses in Ithaca, and a woman she cleaned for gave her a place in Jacksonville. Her grandfather would grow vegetables there and sell them in Ithaca. Her grandmother stayed in Ithaca to clean houses and Beatrice would go to Jacksonville and stay with her grandfather.

Charles Handy was average in size, and mild mannered. He never swore, never drank, but enjoyed his corn-cob pipe. As a young man, he got Infantile Paralysis (Polio). As a result, his left leg had no feeling and was shriveled up. Nevertheless, he got along well with crutches. Beatrice explained how he tended his vegetables by crawling, something his Reynolds grandchildren also spoke of. He loved to experiment, always sending away for new plants and seeds. She told how he became famous locally for a large Jacksonville green string bean that he sold for $5 a bean. Another granddaughter, Josephine Reynolds Barber later said it was called a Tasmanian bean and the local newspaper had published a story about it.

Beatrice loved her grandfather dearly. When she was 18, she took off with a girlfriend to Florida. Her mother tricked her into thinking her grandfather was dying so she left “a good three-dollar-a-week-job” to return to Ithaca. Her grandparents were living on Cherry Street at that time. When she knocked on the back door and her grandpa came to the door, they couldn’t speak – they just cried. She never forgave her mother for that trick.

At the time of her accident, Beatrice was living in Enfield Center in Tompkins County and was an assistant teacher. She said she enjoyed writing poetry and various manuscripts and proudly showed a letter and certificate from the Eugene Field Society [8-31-46 letter]. She found the story of her grandfather’s life so interesting and said she published his story in a paper, Memoirs of Charles Handy, or Charles Handy Memoirs (she couldn’t remember which). She said, “Lena Boyce and I published together.” Beatrice claimed she was working on Part II when the accident occurred. She said the hardest part of her recovery was coming home. Her family thought she would die so her belongings had been either taken or thrown out. The emotional toll on her was obvious.

The written story about her grandfather has yet to be found. But, fortunately, Beatrice shared some of the stories he told.

Charles was born on a reservation in the Everglades of Florida. He said his father was of Irish descent and his mother was an Indian princess, the daughter of a Chief. He told how his mother was a good woman, was skilled at making a good fire for cooking, and wasn’t required to do much because of her status. His father, who was traveling through the reservation, fell in love with her the first time he saw her. Charles said he was still young when his mother caught a fever and died. She was buried at sea, dressed in colorful ceremonial clothing. His father was concerned about the tribe, but there were signs of war and he was more concerned about his son having to fight. So, his father helped him escape at the age of 13 or 14 by taking him into Georgia and telling him to work his way to the North. Beatrice said it hurt her grandfather to talk about the reservation because it hurt him to have to leave. Another granddaughter, Barbara Reynolds Townsend, said Grandpa Handy told her he didn’t want to leave but his father didn’t want him to go to war so made him go North.

Charles worked his way north by doing odd jobs and gardening. On the way, he got what he called Infantile Paralysis (Polio) but was fortunate that a nice family took care of him. When he arrived in the north, he had various jobs and said he once worked on the Erie Canal, running boats with horses. Then, he met Alice.

Two years after telling the story about her grandfather, Beatrice LaBar died.

- - - - - - -

Charles married Alice Rich in 1884. She was much younger, born about 1866. She was the daughter of Elisha and Nancy Jane (Sherwood) Rich. As their family grew, Charles made a living as a farm laborer and Alice did housework for others. Family tradition says they were in Groton for a number of years. In 1892, they were farming in Lansing, New York, with two children, Vernon and Cora. ^[6]

By 1898, they were renting on Cliff Street in Ithaca, New York, where they were in 1900. They had added two more children to their family, Evalina and Grace. ^{[7] [8]}

False Alarm

Last evening as the majority of the citizens were sitting at their tables enjoying their suppers, an alarm of fire sounded from box 27, which is located at the Lehigh Valley House, at the Inlet. The firemen were soon on their way and when arriving at the foot of Cliff street, they were notified that the alarm was false, as the fire was located back of Charles Handy’s house, on Cliff street in, a brush heap. It was a long run but the boys say it did them good. -- Ithaca Daily News, Tuesday, April 19, 1898.

Sometime in 1901, the Handy family moved to 319 North Fulton where Charles listed his occupation as Gardener. The house was one house down from the corner of North Fulton and Court Streets. About 1907 they took over the house on the corner, 323 North Fulton Street (see more about this in the biography of his wife Alice). They lived there for many years, moving back to 319 North Fulton about 1921. According to a granddaughter, they moved back to the house at 319 so they could have a garden. About 1917, Alice had a home located in Jacksonville given to her. Charles spent much of his time raising vegetables in Jacksonville and selling them in Ithaca.

About 1930, Charles and Alice moved to Cherry Street, where Charles lived out his life. He died December 10, 1939 at 103 Cherry Street in Ithaca. He was buried in Hayts Cemetery on West Hill in Ithaca, New York on December 12th. ^[9]

Charles Handy, 96, died Sunday morning, Dec. 10, 1939 at his home, 103 Cherry St. Funeral services will be held at 2 pm Tuesday at Beebe Community Chapel, C. B. Van Buren, superintendent, officiating. Interment will be in Hayts’ Cemetery. Besides his widow, Mrs. Alice Handy, he is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ray Wiggins, Mrs. Spence Reynolds, both of Ithaca; eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. – The Ithaca Journal, Monday, December 11, 1939.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Date: 1900 U. S. Census.
2. ↑ Death Certificate 309, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY, 10 Dec 1939.
3. ↑ U. S. Federal Census: 1870, Nichols, Tioga County, New York, “Chas Hand”.
4. ↑ U. S. Federal Census: 1880, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York.
5. ↑ Interview with Beatrice Elizabeth Hill Kastenhuber LaBar, Searsburg, New York, April 12 and April 24, 1992, by Dee Poole
6. ↑ New York State Census: 1892, Lansing, Tompkins County, New York.
7. ↑ U. S. City Directories, 1822-1995; online database, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT.
8. ↑ U. S. Federal Census: 1900, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.
9. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 162000777; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=162000777