The man who “literally put Washington on the map”

Henry Overing Handy, the son of Commodore Robert Handy and Mary Rathbone Whitehorse Handy, was born on March 21, 1848, in Charleston, Massachusetts. Handy would follow in his father’s footsteps, as he entered the Naval Academy at the age of 17 and was appointed immediately as an Acting Midshipman. Following his graduation on July 4, 1869, he embarked on a lifelong journey that would take him around the world. “By 1870, Handy had been promoted to Ensign and would serve on many naval vessels, making significant contributions to the maritime landscape,” said Brown Library historian, Stephen Farrell. “While serving as the Master of the streamer Arago, his journeys would bring him to Washington in 1872, where he was responsible for creating the first geodetic survey map of Washington and the Pamlico River. These maps are housed at the University of Alabama, and the same ones I use today as they give us a clearer snapshot of life in the mid-19th century in Washington.”

While in Washington Handy’s personal and professional lives came full swing. Handy was commissioned as a Lieutenant, in January of 1875. That same year he married Marina Brickell Hoyt and remained in Washington where they started a family. “His commitment to the Navy remained unwavering, as he received various assignments at home and overseas, including one of note to the U.S.S Vandalia,” said Farrell. “After doing some thorough digging we learned that in 1877, while serving on the Vandalia, the ship played a pivotal role in picking up then President Ulysses S. Grant, his wife, and son during a world tour. We also uncovered some of President Grant’s memoirs from that trip where he mentions Lt. Handy by name.”

Tragically, on December 23, 1884, Handy passed away at the breakfast table while visiting friends in Tarboro, North Carolina, leaving behind a legacy of contributions to the Navy, and the town of Washington. His widow Marina, would later remarry Reverend Nathaniel Harding. Their son, Edmund Harding. A devout promoter of historic restoration, would be dubbed North Carolina’s Ambassador of Goodwill by Governor Greg Cherry “It is so rewarding to be able to put a puzzle like this together and create a bigger narrative about the history of Washington and Beaufort County,” said Farrell. “Here is a man who created the first detailed map of the Pamlico River that we still use today, shook hands and sailed the world with President Grant, was a dedicated naval officer, a loving husband, and walked the same streets that we all walk today. His work has touched thousands, upon thousands of lives over the years. You can’t understand the history of Washington and Beaufort County without the genealogy and you can’t understand the genealogy without understanding the history. That is why it is so paramount that we find and preserve these stories of our past as we look to the future.”

Handy is buried at St Peter’s Episcopal Church Cemetery.

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