Win Hand applied for a land under the Homestead Act. The land was in Bruce Township, Chippewa County, Michigan. Section 27, 46 N, 1E. All homesteads were 160 acres. This is a receipt for $4.00. dated 28 Aug 1885.
Win was granted the homestead on 27 February 1885.
Win & Catherine (Bradley) Hand had quite a large party at their home. The home no longer exists. It is a vacant lot now. The 4 women who served the refreshmnents were Mrs. Arthur Powell (Rosetta Louisa Ashenden), Mrs. O.I. Millar (Janet Hood), Mrs. Thomas Hand (Christina Ross) & Mrs. Lalonde (Gertrude Hand).
Win was born in Mulmur Twp, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. He bought a farm in Mulmur Twp. The first buildings erected in the village of Stanton are on his farm. He sold the farm and moved to Orangeville, Ontario. This article was written in June 1878 indicates that he decided not to move to Michigan, but he moved back to Michigan in October 1878.
Win worked briefly as an Innkeeper. This ad only appeared for 7 months and then the Dominion House had a new proprietor. Primarily Win worked as a Constable, Bailiff, auctioneer and bill collector. He was 6 ft 5 1/2 inches tall.
In spite of Win's huge size he was not always successful in apprehending criminals. I think he was a practical person. There was an incident at the Soo when he arrested someone and there was riot demanding the release of the prisoner. Win let him go. He said later that he thought it best not to incite the crowds because he could always arrest the man the next day.
Win appeared in the paper fairly often not always to the good.
The newspapers frequently make fun of Win's name and his huge size. In the early newspapers there are a lot of jokes about the dumb Irish although the majority of the populace was Irish.
This is a letter to the Editor of the "Northern Advance" newspaper of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It is difficult to read it as I have presented it, but the letter took up over two columns of the paper. I am only showing parts of the letter. I agree with the Editor that it is a very literary letter and I found it highly amusing.
One of the main reasons this person was offended was because the Mulmur Town Council refused to hold the meetings in the Orange Hall. The Council was controlled by the Hand family. Thomas Hand was the Reeve (President) at this time. His brothers William and Win were on the council. In my opinion it would be very imappropriate to hold government meetings in an Orange Hall. I don't understand enough about Orange Halls to comment about the argument. I know that about 75% of the population of Mulmur Township was Protestant Irish. The Hand brothers were Anglican.
This paragraph is particularly amusing. No names are mentioned, but there were three Hand brothers on the Mulmur Council. The Book "Mulmur- The History of a Township" states that the Hand Family was one of the earliest and most influential settlers.
The homestead is in Bruce Township, Chippewa County, Michigan. It's at the corner of Riverside Drive and 10 Mile Rd. Win sold the farm in 1888 for $1500.00 plus the 1887 taxes and $400.00 mortgage. the buyer did not pay the mortgage and the farm was sold at a Sheriff's sale in 1889.
This fire occured in 1909. Perhaps this is one reason why there do not seem to be any pictures of Win & Catherine.
This is the earliest mention of Harry that I have found. It shows that he was living in the Soo in August of 1895. It also shows that he originally used the name of Harry Reynolds and helps to prove that he was born in 1891. Harry changed his birth year often and then became confused aout which year he really was born in. The 1900 census said September 1891 and now this newspaper article states he was 3 years old on 3 August 1895.
Win's job as Poundmaster was to keep the cows from roaming around downtown. In addition he also impounded any other unlicensed animals roaming around the town. People had to pay a fine to get their animals back. The animals could be sold. The dogs and cats were only kept 48 hours and then killed if no one claimed them.
This appeared after Win died. I did not know that he belonged to the Orange Lodge. I have since found two more newspaper articles about Win and the Orange Lodge. He was on a decorating committee for a party they were haveing and he was appointed outside tyler.
