Samuel Handley was born in Pennsylvania, probably about 1776. He moved to Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, before 1800, when he appeared on the tax lists. In 1803, he sat on the first petit jury to be convened in the county:
The first petit jury impaneled for the circuit court served at the March term, 1803, and was composed of: Samuel Handley, John Dennis, David Casebier, David Robertson, Thomas Bell, Thomas Littlepage, Thomas Randolph, Henry Unsell, George Nott, Henry Davis, Jacob Anthony, and Philip Stom. The first case tried was that of "The Commonwealth against Peter Acre, sometimes called Acrefield." Peter Acrefield was charged with assault, and was fined "one penny besides costs."Rothert, Otto A. A History of Muhlenberg County (Louisville, KY: John P. Morton & Co., Inc., 1913), 53.
On September 4, 1804 Samuel Handley married Mary Ripple in Muhlenberg County. They were married by Matthew Adams. (Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, 30:273). Mary was a daughter of Michael Ripple, a Revolutionary War veteran.
Samuel Handley continued to live in Muhlenberg County until about 1823, when he and his in-laws, Michael, John and Daniel Ripple, all moved to what is now Edgar County, Illinois. Although an 1889 Edgar County history states that Samuel arrived in Edgar County in 1819, he was enumerated in the 1820 census still in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky (with 8 boys and 3 girls all listed as 16 years old or younger). Two other Edgar County histories (1879 and 19--) state that Samuel Handley arrived in Edgar County in 1824-25 and 1823-25, respectively. In addition, a deed recorded in Muhlenberg County from Samuel and Mary Handley to Isaac Newman for 150 acres on Clifty Creek was dated 9 Sept. 1822. Although it would be possible that they moved first and sold the land several years later, it seems more likely that the sale of the land occurred close to the time of the move.
Samuel Handley was enumerated as a head of household in in 1830 and 1840. In 1850, he appeared in Marshall Township, Clark County, Illinois, living in the household of his daughter Sarah and her husband Joseph B. Dickson, and their three children. Mary was probably deceased by that time, possibly about 1849 (based on a biographical sketch of grandson J. T. Hanley [Handley] in Portrait and Biographical Album of Coles County, Ill. (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887)).
Samuel Handley passed away in the Spring of 1852 (J. T. Hanley sketch).
According to a search of the ProQuest database (on 6-16-2006), there were only five Handley/Hanley/Handly/Hanly families in Pennsylvania in the 1790 census:
Key:
Free white males 16 & upward
Free white males under 16
Free white females
All other free persons
Slaves
If Samuel was born in 1776 and still living in Pennsylvania in 1790, only two of the enumerated families have free white males under the age of 16: James Hanley of Franklin County and Michael Hanley of Washington County. Of course, there is no certainty that all Handleys/Hanleys/Handlys/Hanlys were enumerated or correctly indexed. It is also possible that Samuel and/or his parents had already left Pennsylvania before 1790.
Descendants of Samuel Handley of Edgar County, Illinois is a computer-generated report listing the first four generations of the Handley and Hanley families starting with Samuel Handley. For an explanation of why I selected four generations as a cut-off, please visit my Privacy Statement.
For more information on this and other collateral lines (and to see the most up-to-date information I have posted at any time), please visit my database on RootsWeb WorldConnect. You can also view the information in a variety of reports and download a GEDCOM file at that site.
Following are some of the primary and secondary sources I have used to assemble the Handley / Hanley genealogy on this site. Transcriptions are by the author of this website unless otherwise noted.
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Note: The information on this web site has been obtained from a variety
of sources, including information from persons who did not identify their sources. Even where the original source is cited, transcription errors are common. All information should always be independently verified by the researcher, from primary source materials where possible. Please feel free to suggest any changes, additions, or corrections. Please send e-mail to: 
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