Dear Mike I am not related to HANDS at all but I noticed the name as there is one Azael HANDS who was a witness in a rather distressing court case that involved my great grandfather in 1894 in Rugby Warwickshire. My great grandfather was accused of manslaughter but I have to add here that he was found Not Guilty! If you are interested in Azael HANDS and his wife, Lucy, I would be glad to send on my transcription of the newspaper article that I found in Warwickshire Record Office. I have included my email address as I would send the document as an attachment off list. Regards Janet janet@ellisat16.freeserve.co.uk Yes, I'm looking at my HANDS again. My HANDS have variously escaped from Redditch/Tardebigge, Studley, Bromsgrove and Kings Norton over the past few hundred years. The database grows all the time. Another one this week popped up, one Henry HANDS, Blacksmith, of Bromsgrove, found in 1891 Deritend, Aston. So if anyone else has lost their HANDS, I may have found them. I also know a number of unrelated researchers who I may be able to put you in touch with. Kind regards Mike Yegwart