 about 1857 - 1925 (~ 68 years)
-
| Name |
Christina Irene HAND |
| Nickname |
Christy or Chrissy |
| Birth |
about 1857 |
Lagrange Co. IN  [4, 5] |
| Gender |
Female |
| Census |
1870 |
Clay Twp.,Lagrange Co.,IN [4] |
| Census |
1910 |
Clay Twp.,Lagrange Co.,IN [6] |
| Census |
1920 |
Lima,Lagrange Co.,IN [7] |
| Burial |
November 1925 |
Riverside Cemetery,Howe,Lagrange Co,IN [2] |
| Death |
15 November 1925 |
Lagrange Co. IN [2, 5, 8] |
| Cause: Senility and an anemic condition |
| Notes |
- Excerpts from "A Family Named Hand" by Ethel Hand Armstrong
...
While we were in Howe, we also visited a cousin of father's who lived there. She was a sort of village character. Her name was Christina Sullivan and at some point in her life she had been married but I think that she was a widow. (Marcia's note: maiden name Hand.) Everyone in town knew her as "Old Crissie." She lived in a filthy old shack that she shared with cats, dogs, chickens and skunks. There were no screens and they all came and went as they wanted to. She was very tickled to see father because it had been a lot of years since they had seen each other. Of course, she did not recognize him until he told her who he was. She danced around him and hugged and kissed him and kept laughing and saying, "I didn't even know my own cousin Jonty." Later she hugged and kissed us all and asked us to come in. She pushed cats and skunks off chairs and when we acted uneasy about the skunks she said, "Oh they won't hurt you" and they never did. She asked us to eat but after seeing the animals sharing the table and dishes, we made excuses. She wanted us to at least drink tea with her but after watching her scoop tea leaves from the saucepan she always had on the back of the stove with her filthy hands, we were not thirsty. She was a happy person and was always singing. The young people of the town got their kicks from coming to her house and asking her to sing and dance for them. She always did, I guess and they gave her money for her dancing. It was probably the only source of income she had. That was years before Social Security and I don't think she was on welfare. She would lift her long dirty skirt to about half way to her knees and jig and clog and sing funny little ditties. I don't know how old she was but she wasn't young.
...
Goldie and I walked to Howe to visit her several times during the years we were in Sturgis. (Marcia's note: It is about six miles from Sturgis, Michigan to Howe, Indiana.) We could safely go that far and even accept rides from passing cars then. We use to enjoy a day spent going to visit Old Crissie. Several years later the Health Department got involved and condemned her house. The town's people took up collections and had projects to raise money and built her a small comfortable home in another part of town and moved her into it, but only allow her take one of two pets with her. She only lived a few months in the new location. I think that she just couldn't stand the change and longed for her old life and just couldn't adjust. (Marcia's note: The John HAND family left Sturgis in 1921, so I thought Christy probably died before that but additional resources have not confirmed that she died 15 Nov 1925 in Lagrange Co., IN. She is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Howe, Lagrange Co., IN.)...
|
| Person ID |
I4805 |
Marcia Shears |
| Last Modified |
18 August 2006 |
-
| Sources |
- [S971] SULLIVAN Christy Obituary 1956, (http://www.rootsweb.com/~inlagran/lgobit3.html).
- [S1906] HAND Christina Skunk Woman Article 1950, (The LaGrange News: Supplement, LaGrange, Indiana, Thursday, June 29, 1950. ).
- [S1907] HAND Christinia Skunk Woman Article 1925, (The LaGrange Standard, LaGrange, Indiana, 20 Nov 1925.).
- [S970] 1870 US Federal Census - HAND Mason Family, (Clay Twp., Lagrange Co., IN, Lines 11- 16, Image 30 of 32 ).
- [S1905] SULLIVAN Christina H. Death Record Information.
- [S1911] 1910 US Federal Census - SULLIVAN Christina, (Clay Twp., LaGrange Co., IN).
- [S1912] 1920 US Federal Census - HAND Christina.
- [S394] Ethel (Hand) Armstrong, A Family Named Hand.
|
|
