 Hand family and business records
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteJudson Larrabee (J. L.) Hand was born in Houston County, Georgia on March 20, 1850. He attended the University of Georgia and graduated in 1871. The following year, he moved to Pelham, Georgia and established a sawmill and turpentine distillery. In 1876, he created a commissary to serve his employees that would grow into the largest mercantile business in southwest Georgia, the Hand Trading Company. Mr. Hand became Pelham's first mayor and postmaster and served several terms in the Georgia General Assembly. At the time of his death on October 14, 1916, he was president of the Hand Trading Company, Pelham Manufacturing Company, Pelham Phosphate Company, Pelham Oil and Fertilizer Works, the Farmers' Bank of Pelham, Pelham Loan and Investment Company, and Flint River and Northeastern Railway. Scope and ContentThis collection contains the business and personal records of the Hand family of Pelham, Georgia and reflects the status of South Georgia's agricultural economy from the end of Reconstruction to the early 1980s. Initial success in land speculation, farming, and timber and turpentine production during the late 19th to early 20th centuries led Judson Larrabee (J. L.) Hand to establish the Hand Trading Company, a company that would become southwest Georgia's largest mercantile business and spur his expansion into banking, railroads, textiles, and fertilizer manufacture. The collection is comprised of the deeds, financial records, and correspondence of the Hand family's many businesses; political papers relating to Frederick Barrow Hand, Sr.'s terms in the Georgia General Assembly from 1933 to 1955 and his 1954 gubernatorial primary campaign; photographs of J. L. Hand's businesses, employees, and home, as well as Fred Hand, Sr.'s political career; and Fred Hand, Sr.'s genealogical records. Administrative InformationConditions Governing AccessThough the collection is open for research, the audiovisual recordings do not have reference copies; however, reference copies are available upon request. Audiovisual research requests are dependent upon the format and condition of the recordings. Preferred CitationHand family and business records, ms4248, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Immediate Source of AcquisitionGenerously donated by Mr. and Mrs. Fred B. Hand, III. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this RepositoryThe audiovisual materials related to this collection are housed in the Walter J. Brown Media Archives. | ||||||||||||||||||