HENRY O. HANDY, LT, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Henry Handy '69

Date of birth: March 21, 1848

Date of death: December 23, 1884

Age: 36

Naval Academy Register

Henry Overling Handy was admitted to the Naval Academy from Massachusetts on July 25, 1865 at age 17 years 4 months.

Naval Academy Photo Album

1869 Handy 1.jpg

Prior to the publication of the Lucky Bag in 1894, most portraits of officers and midshipmen of the Naval Academy were captured in yearly photo albums. The album for 1869 is available in the collections of the Naval Academy's Digital Collections.

Special thank you to historian Kathy Franz for identifying this resource and then extracting several dozen photographs for this site.

1869 Handy 1.jpg

Prior to the publication of the Lucky Bag in 1894, most portraits of officers and midshipmen of the Naval Academy were captured in yearly photo albums. The album for 1869 is available in the collections of the Naval Academy's Digital Collections.

Special thank you to historian Kathy Franz for identifying this resource and then extracting several dozen photographs for this site.

Loss

From Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute:

Henry O. Handy was appointed an Acting Midshipman in the Navy, July 25, 1865. Graduated at the Naval Academy, July 4, 1869. June 30, 1869, ordered to the Sabine. July 28, 1870, detached and ordered to examination for promotion, 30th September. October 28, 1870, promoted to Ensign, from July 12, 1870. October 28, 1870, ordered to the Navy Yard, Boston. November 30, 1870, detached and ordered to the California, 10th December. September 30, 1873, detached from the Narragansett and placed on waiting orders. November 18, 1873, commissioned as Master, from July 12, 1871. January 14th, 1874, ordered to the Frolic. March 30, 1874, detached and granted three months' leave of absence. July 15, 1874, ordered to duty on the Coast Survey. January 22, 1875, commissioned as Lieutenant, from November 9, 1874. December 31, 1875, detached from duty on the Coast Survey, and ordered to the Vandalia, 10th January. January 20, 1879, detached and placed on waiting orders. June 2, 1879, ordered to Torpedo instruction. September 6, 1879, detached and placed on waiting orders. January 9, 1880, ordered to the receiving ship Wabash. October 20, 1881, detached and ordered to the Brooklyn, 2d November. October 15th, 1884, detached and placed on waiting orders. December 8, 1884, granted six months' leave of absence. He died at Washington, North Carolina, on the 23d December, 1884.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Parents Robert and Mary; he's a naval officer. In 1870, Henry is at home with parents and sisters Ida and Ella. In 1865 family included Lizzie and Charles, too. He married Marina Brickell Hoyt on June 9, 1875, and their child Robert Rathbone was born on March 19, 1876. She received a pension. Henry died of rheumatic endocarditis and ensuing thrombosis of the heart.

The other Handy in that cemetery was his daughter Margaret who died the year before him. She was only 4 years old.

Henry is buried in North Carolina.

Career

From the Naval History and Heritage Command:

Midshipman, 28 July, 1865. Graduated June, 1869. Ensign 12 July, 1870. Master, 12 July, 1871. Lieutenant, 9 November, 1874. Died 23 December, 1884.

Memorial Hall Error

Illness is not a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall.


Class of 1869

Henry is the only member of the Class of 1869 in Memorial Hall.


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