Hand, Edward, 1744-1802

HAND, Edward, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Clyduff, County Kings, Ireland, December 31, 1744; accompanied the Eighteenth Royal Irish Regiment to the United States as surgeon's mate in 1774, but resigned; Continental Army, 1775-1778; commanded a brigade of the Light Infantry Corps in August 1780; adjutant general, United States Army, 1781-1783; brevetted major general September 30, 1783; mustered out November 3, 1783; physician; Member of the Continental Congress in 1783 and 1784; major general, United States Army, 1798-1800; died in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pa., September 3, 1802; interment in St. James's Episcopal Cemetery, Lancaster, Pa.

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li> 01/07/1789 PA Presidential Elector Won 9.93% (+0.57%)</li>
<li>12/31/1784 PA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1783 PA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>Edward Hand (31 December 1744 – 3 September 1802) was an Irish soldier, physician, and politician who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of general, and later was a member of several Pennsylvania governmental bodies.</p>

<p>Hand was born in Clyduff, King's County (now County Offaly), Ireland, on 31 December 1744, and was baptised in Shinrone. His father was John Hand. Among his immediate neighbours were the Kearney family, ancestors of U.S. President Barack Obama. He was a descendant of either the families of Mag Fhlaithimh (of south Ulaidh and Mide) or Ó Flaithimhín (of the Síol Muireadaigh) who, through mistranslation (Flaithimh/Flaithimhín into Láimhín; laimh = hand), became Lavin or Hand.</p>

Hand earned a medical certificate from Trinity College, Dublin. In 1767, Hand enlisted as a Surgeon's Mate in the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot. On 20 May 1767, he sailed with the regiment from Cobh, Cork, Ireland, arriving at Philadelphia on 11 July 1767. In 1772, he was commissioned an ensign. He marched with the regiment to Fort Pitt, on the forks of the Ohio River, returning to Philadelphia in 1774, where he resigned his commission.</p>