Home ~ Our Ancestors ~ Contact us

Robert HANDY

HUSBAND:
[F384]. Robert HANDY.
Possibly the father of William HANDY [F192]. If he is indeed the father of William HANDY, I estimate that Robert HANDY would have been born about 1725. If William is not the son of Robert, he must be a brother or at least a nephew.

He is said by (S1) to be the son of Jesse HANDY [F768], though I fear that Robert HANDY [F384] is being confused with Robert A. HANDY [F48], and thus lists Robert as the son of Jesse.

I fear that the author (S1) is confusing Robert HANDY [F384] married Rosy Doyle (Doxey) MOSS [F385]. She was the daughter of William Boaz MOSS. [She would be reference #F385 and her father would be #F770, but they will not be followed further until a definite connection is proven].

About 1776 Robert Handy, William Boaz Moss, and George Burks explored the southern central area of Kentucky. William Boaz MOSS was a Methodist Minister, and the first minister of the Pleasant Ridge Meeting House. It was on his property that the meetinghouse was built. The Moss, Handy, and Burke families were said to be from the vicinity of Mount Vernon, Virginia; but so far, I have seen no evidence of them in the Mount Vernon area, but probably from elsewhere in Virginia.

Reverend Moss staked out land located near the present Adair County line. Robert Handy took up land near the Moss land, and George Burke staked out land at the head of Adams Creek. They located on springs of clear water which were near the creek. There were also mineral springs in the vicinity.

The “Pleasant Ridge Meeting House” was used until 1844, when the membership split over the slavery question. The slave holders moved out and built a new meeting house. Methodist preachers who preached in the “Pleasant Ridge Meeting House” were William Boaz Moss, Manoah Lasley, William Burke, Francis Asbury, Thomas Lasley, Brother McKandree, Peter Cartwright, George W. Taylor, and others.

Kentucky was at that time territory belonging to Virginia. That same year, 1776, Kentucky became a separate county of Virginia, named Kentucky County.

It was a practice at the time for early explorers to claim property several years before they actually occupied it. Robert Handy, William Boaz Moss, and George Burks staked out land on Adams Creek near springs of clear water, in what is now Adair County. It is not known how long they stayed at that time, but it was apparently just a brief stay. The land they claimed was on the "Old Military Line". It is not known if they received their land by right of Military service or by the claims of "Improver's Cabins".

They returned to stay permanently in 1782, when they built log cabins and the "Pleasant Ridge Meeting House". William Boaz Moss was the minister of this group of Methodists and the Meeting House was built on his land. The members of the group were Robert Handy and his wife Rosy Doyle Moss, the Reverend William Boaz Moss and his wife Diana Price, Francis Clark Moss and Nancy Reed, William H. Price and Mary F. Graves, Robert Price and his family, the Hicks family, the Parnell family, and John Tucker who was also a Methodist Preacher. The Parnell family later occupied Robert Handy's cabin and established the Parnell Cemetery on this land. It is possible that members of the Handy family were buried in the same plot, though such is not listed in the records.

The Pleasant Ridge Meeting House was small, made of logs, and chinked with thin layers of rock and clay. It was built around a tree stump which had been cut off high enough to serve as a pulpit. The seats were made of hewn logs with four legs but no backs. At first they placed limbs across the door to keep animals out. This was soon replaced with a "batten" door made of split wood that was tongue and grooved. This Meeting House stood on a high ridge near Adams Creek. From this ridge one could see for many miles over the beautiful countryside. The land sloped down into deep gorges which were well wooded. There was a spring under the hill that provided water.

Robert Handy was one of those who built one of the cabins in 1782, on his own property on Adams Creek. This year was carved into one of the logs in the cabin. It was built of hewed buckeye logs. His property was near the Moss family property. George Burkes staked out land at the mouth of Adams Creek.

Robert Handy apparently died before 1790, which was before Kentucky even became a state. Therefore, any record of his death would have to be in Virginia territory records.

If Robert Handy is not the father of William Handy, he is undoubtedly either a brother or an uncle. William, at any rate, inherited the cabin that Robert built in 1782. Given what we do know of the relative ages of Robert and William, my guess is that Robert is the father of William, however, this still needs to be verified. The closeness of the group with which they lived on Adams Creek and in the Pleasant Ridge Meeting House congregation allows for hardly any other conclusion.

WIFE:
[F385]. Rosy Doyle (Doxey) MOSS
She was the daughter of William Boaz MOSS.

CHILDREN


SOURCES: