All About My Mother
The story of the Hands and Cheesman families
The Hands Family
This is my maternal grandfather’s family, about which very little was known until I started digging around. Illegitimacy means that my roots are not in Chipping Norton as we at first thought, but in the West Country, around the city of Bath.
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Chapter 1
Origins of the Hands family.
From the village of Twerton to the bright lights of London, this large family has few traceable ancestors but a fair number of descendants.
Chapter 2
Edward James Hands (1871-1948)
Orphaned in his teens, he and his wife had only one child but his wife’s family is rather more interesting.
Chapter 2a
Charlotte Eliza Hands (1861 - 1942)
One of Edward's sisters had a large and interesting family.
Chapter 2b
James Alfred Hands (1874 - 1926)
Although a previously unknown brother of Edward, there is lots to say about him.
Chapter 3
Fitzroy James Hands (1906-1972)
My grandfather, who I only knew as a child.