Fratzke-Hand Web Site

    My name is Larry Hand and I am the Webmaster of this site. The question has been asked, "Do the Hands in this family tree really have a Coat of Arms ?".  Sadly the answer is no.  Irish tenant farmers didn't get them. But, for a few dollars someone will draw one up and I thought this one looked good. So here it is. And, by the way, the Fratzkes didn't have one either.     Our family tree is posted online on this site! There are 2033 names in our family site.          The Hand family, from Co. Monaghan in Ireland and the Fratzke family, from the Provence of Posen in Prussia, are the two main family branches on this web site. Both immigrated to the U.S. in the 1850's. The family tree was created using software available, at no charge, from MyHeritage.com. Please be sure to click on the "Photos & Videos " tab  at the top. In addition to photos it contains historical documents and stories on the Hands & Fratzkes.    Family records, for tenant farmers in Ireland, before circa 1840, are vague or nonexistent and up to circa 1900 flimsy. The web site  "Irish Genealogy Toolkit " (at http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/trace-family-history.html) gives a good over view of the many problems and research sources available.    When all else fails, DNA testing ( the Y chromosone is passed exclusively from the father to the son) is an option at the "Hand Project"  at Family Tree DNA.  FTDNA  is the lab that IBM and National Geographic use in their quest to document the flow of people out of Africa to Asia and Europe.    The Hand DNA Project, working with Dr. Tyrone Bowes of the Northern University of Ireland, has been able to determine that my DNA (and all the male Hands that share my DNA) are part of the 60% of Irishmen that are descendant from the genetic pool of pre-Christian "Native Irish" of 1,000-1,200 years ago. and come from the clan McClave. His results are based on the DNA of 300,000 irishmen. Note: The other 40% are descendants from invading Vikings (9th century), invading Normans (12th century) and English (16th century Plantation period).    The site was last updated in September 2017, and it currently has 9 registered members. Some of the information contained herein is speculative. It is hoped that by so doing it will lead to further investigations and not cause undue confusion. Please forgive me if it does, That was not my intent.     To become a member, please e-mail the Web Master your interests in these families and, if applicable,  your relationship(s) to people in the tree.  We welcome new members.        If you wish to investigate the Family Tree DNA- Hand Project ,please go to the web site given below.             http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Hand    And, for a concise, three minute, romp through the universe that ends with  why we are where we are, please copy & paste the following in your browser. You won't be disappointed.             hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMr81u1z4DA   "Just Remember the Universe"Enjoy!