FAMILY TREE
English cousin gives new slant to family history
The Hand side of my family came from England to the Midwest in the 1920s. Grandmother Mary Ann, called Polly, was the oldest of seven children. I loved to look at her photos and asked many questions, and later enjoyed researching the family. I went to England to meet relatives who still lived in the same area. Gran told my cousin Jane and me our family was “next to royalty.” Aunt Elsie, Gran’s sister, lived to be 105, and she also told us many stories, including about her brother Jack.
Great-uncle Jack was in the British infantry and fought in the trenches during World War I. After the war, he went to Australia, then joined his parents and brother Sam in America. He married twice—his first wife died—and never had children.
Gran remained silent about family scandal that was revealed in May 2018, when Chris Hand of Huddersfield, England, contacted Jane. His Grandfather John was the son of Jack, who’d married an Englishwoman named Nellie before the war. Chris told us
Jack abandoned his young family, which was traumatic for his little boy, John. Chris also found letters from Mary Ann to Nellie. This was a shock, as no one ever talked about Jack’s first family, even though they must have known about it. Gran told the Hand history the way she wanted it to be.
As Chris and I have gotten better acquainted, it is uncanny how similar our life views are. Is this nurture or nature? We share whatever family tidbits we learn. My international travel days are at an end, but I hope to meet him one day.