Samuel Hand, named after his grandfather and great-grandfather, was a son of Ira Hand, whose portrait and biography also appear in this work.  Samuel Hand was next to the youngest of seven children of Ira and Martha (Rose) Hand, viz., Franklin, Frederick, Hiram, Chauncey, Chloe, Samuel, and Herman Hand, all of whom, except Samuel and Frederick, are still living.

     Samuel Hand was born July 14, 1833, on the homestead now occupied by his brother Franklin.  He was reared as a farmer, and besides attending the common schools had the advantages of home instruction, his father being a well-informed man, and delighting to impart his knowledge on various subjects, especially on mathematics, to his family as they were gathered around him in the winter evenings.  The faculty for mathematics and kindred branches of mechanism was a prevailing trait in the early members of the family and has been inherited by their descendants.  Ira Hand had a natural genius in this direction, and so aided his children in their studies that in this branch they excelled in their school recitations.  Samuel, besides attaining a good English education, had a strong natural taste for the beautiful, which was displayed in the neatness and beauty of his handwriting and in the taste manifested in fitting up and adorning his home.  For the enjoyments and pastimes of domestic and social life he had a strong attachment, having been brought up to spend his evenings and leisure hours at home with the family.  This habit, rigidly inculcated in his boyhood days, became a second nature in his after-life.  He was possessed of a genial disposition, warm friendship, and kindly sympathies, being especially at home in attending and caring for the sick.

     He was united in marriage to Mary A. Lord, daughter of Bernard H. Lord, of Nassau, Rensselaer county, December 30, 1863.  He continued to live at the homestead where he was born till February 1, 1864, when he removed with his wife to that portion of the original estate of his grandfather at Lebanon Springs, where he resided till his death, which occurred February 25, 1871, in his thirty-eighth year, leaving Laura Grace and Samuel Waddams, his only two children, the latter of whom soon followed him, departing this life July 27, 1872.  Mrs. Hand survives to mourn his loss; but her bereavement is tempered by the consciousness of his upright life, and the high esteem and confidence reposed in him by all who knew him.  He was a man of generous and noble impulses, and his life was governed by principles of integrity and honor.  He was always ready to lend a helping hand to enterprises for the good of society, and although not a church member himself he was active in aiding the interest of the church where he lived, and on whose board he served as trustee.  He had little interest in politics beyond casting his vote at elections, and never sought nor held office.