HENRY O. HANDY, LT, USN
Henry Handy '69
Henry Overling Handy was admitted to the Naval Academy from Massachusetts on July 25, 1865 at age 17 years 4 months.
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.
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
Henry died on December 23, 1884 of rheumatic endocarditis while on a six month leave of absence.
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:
Henry died of rheumatic endocarditis and ensuing thrombosis of the heart.
He married Marina “Rena” Brickell Hoyt on June, 9, 1875. Their children were Robert Rathbone, born March 19, 1876, and Margaret, who died at age 4. Henry's wife received a pension after he died.
Henry's father was Robert who retired from the Navy as a Commodore in 1865. His mother was Mary, and his brother Charles died at age 19 of consumption in May 1870. Henry's sisters were Elizabeth (Mrs. Cyrus Foss) who died in 1893 in Hyde Park, Massachusetts; Ida who died in 1897, and Ella who died in 1873.
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.
Henry is the only member of the Class of 1869 in Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
