Hand Family History
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John Hand, 1767-1846

There are quite a few opinions about John Hand, born 1767. Many researchers at it far longer than I have yet to agree. For the sake of brevity, I'll discuss only two of the more prevailing avenues of research here and the problems with both.

The first line of research supports the belief that John Hand was not an immigrant at all, but rather native born, as was his father. The original spelling of his name is believed to be the derivative, "Johannes Hähn." The birth and death dates, 1767-1846, of course remain the same. After this initial jump, most other facts are supported with concrete proof, period documentation and verifiable sources. For example, Johannes Hähn's (1767-1846) place of birth was Pennsylvania. His father, Henrich Hähn, was also born in Pennsylvania, in Heidelberg Township, Berks County, 1743. His grandfather, Johann Peter Hähn, was born in New York, and Johannes Hähn's maternal line is traceable to Pennsylvania, through Anna Catherine Küntzer, baptized January 22, 1749. Both his mother Anna Catherine Küntzer and Anna Margaretha Zimmerman, his future wife, were natives of Pennsylvania. Clearly this makes no great case for immigration, no trips down rivers or across oceans for Johannes Hähn. He, like much of his family, was native born. The only migration which took place for this particular Johannes Hähn would be an internal move with his future wife, then Anna Margaretha Zimmerman, from one county in Pennsylvania to another.

The primary problem with this first avenue of research is the nature of that initial supposition, and reliance on coincidence. Name jumping can quickly spiral out of control and lead down any dark avenue. For instance, John Hand could just as easily be "Johannes Hahn" baptized December 10, 1767, at Saint Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church, Littlestown, Adams, Pennsylvania, with his father being Ludwig Hahn, and his mother being Anna Margaretha. Or perhaps John Hand was really "Johannes Hahn" born October 20, 1767, and baptized November 5, 1767 at Christ Lutheran Church, York, York, Pennsylvania, who's father was Jacob Hahn and mother was Elizabeth Barbara. It's about here the headaches begin. There were indeed such men. Are they John Hand?

The second, widely held belief has it's own problems. It involves an epic trip, based largely on oral history. This time John Hand (1767-1846) is believed to have been "Johannes Han" and the actual progenitor of the family. He, his wife "Margraid," and other members of his party, reportedly travelled across an ocean, immigrated to the New World, and eventually ended up in Pennsylvania. This story, handed down through the generations and recorded in other genealogists' work, has been told and retold over the years. Of course, this doesn't make it any more valid, or even accurate. It's possible the oral history is completely wrong, or perhaps merely wrong in interpretation and scope. One small change here, one mistake there, and the next generation has the story completely wrong. Such small changes are inevitable and one of the great weaknesses of the oral tradition.

So who was John Hand? Was his name really "Johannes Hähn"? Or "Johannes Han"? Or something else entirely? I don't know. Whatever the truth may be, it's clear today that both Johannes Han and Johannes Hähn, and perhaps others, are all purporting to be the very same man, "John Hand" (1767-1846) of early Pennsylvania.

. . .

For any interested in the Pennsylvania Dutch, the history of Pennsylvania makes for an interesting bit of weekend reading. Briefly, for people trying to track down ancestors, early immigration to this area had it's beginnings with William Penn and ended (the real pioneering movement) soon after the close of the Revolutionary War. William Penn, a Quaker, received his land grant in 1681 and founded Pennsylvania that year. The largest group of Quakers arrived the following year in 1682 to people the new colony, deemed the "holy experiment." In 1683, the first German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania and formed Germantown near Philadelphia.

Many of the German families settling in Pennsylvania around this time were from the Middle Rhine country, a part of Germany called the Palatinate. They came to the colonies largely looking for religious freedoms, and their descendants are what are commonly referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch. In fact, there's evidence that many families now living in Pennsylvania have their roots in places like Saarbruck, Heidelberg, Strasburg, and Coblentz. It's also from this region that the actual Pennsylvania Dutch dialect originated, and not the "Platt-Deutsch" which prevails in the northern sections of Germany. ^1.

(Please don't send me emails about Pennsylvania Dutch being a completely American phenomenon. Though some linguists have labelled this particular German dialect as native, the emphasis is on originate. According to Harvey Hand's history, there are accounts from W.W.II of his contemporaries, "Pennsylvania Dutch men, particularly of the A.E.F., speaking quite easily with the people in Alsace Lorraine and the citizens of Coblentz during the American occupation." ^2. If nothing else, this illustrates a close linguistic relationship between the two dialects.)

In any event, serious German immigration to this area ended about the time of the ratification of the Constitution, around 1788. However, just because you find ancestors arriving in Pennsylvania during this window, 1683-1788, doesn't, of course, mean they're of German descent. Many English Quakers came over as well. And later in the mid and late 1700's, the Scots-Irish also made their way South, from the overcrowded North, in search of land. Some put down roots in this area of Pennsylvania, picking up both the culture and the language, while others moved on into the interior and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Note: I've found no definitive or substantiated answer to the question of Johannes Han's origins or ethnicity, nor can I claim with 100% certainty that he was indeed of German descent.

1. "History and Genealogy of the Hand Family; The Coming of a Practical Dialect." Compiled, written, and researched by Harvey Hand.

2. "History and Genealogy of the Hand Family; Our Dialect Common in Europe"" Compiled, written, and researched by Harvey Hand.

* Information found here gathered from multiple sources, Harvey Hand's genealogy, compilation of research through the Merold branch, the University of Texas, and various written histories.