Samuel Hand (May 1, 1834 – May 21, 1886) was an Associate Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

in 1878.

Early life

Born in Elizabethtown, New York, to Judge

Augustus C. Hand Augustus Cincinnatus Hand (September 4, 1803 in Shoreham, Vermont, Shoreham, Addison County, Vermont – March 8, 1878 in Elizabethtown, New York, Essex County, New York) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from New York. He served one ...

and Marcia Seeyle Northrop, Hand went to

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in Vermont, and later transferred to

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

after two years. He graduated in 1851 as the youngest member of his class, and received an honorary law degree from Union College in 1884.

Career

Hand's career in public service began in 1863, when he was appointed Corporation Counsel of Albany. He would then go on to serve as the official

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...

of the New York Court of Appeals from 1869 to 1872. In 1878, Governor

Lucius Robinson Lucius Robinson (November 4, 1810March 23, 1891) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the List of Governors of New York, 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879. Life He graduated from Delaware Academy in Delhi (village), New York, ...

appointed Hand to the New York Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Associate Justice

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

; Hand served on the court during the later half of 1878 before retiring to continue his private law practice.

Death

On May 21, 1886, Hand died at his home in Albany of

tongue cancer Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless white patch, that thickens, develops red patches, an ulcer, and continues to grow. When on ...

; he was survived by his son,

Learned Hand Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 a ...

, himself a noted judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Samuel 1834 births 1886 deaths New York (state) state court judges Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Union College (New York) alumni 19th-century American judges