An Alarming History: Children and the Dangers of Fire
“Don’t play with fire!” What child hasn’t heard this phrase? Growing up, I know I did—especially when staying at the family cabin or on a Boy Scout camping trip. Back then, I didn’t really...
Category: History
When the Wolf Sisters Met the Hagenbuch Brothers
In his 1886 family history, Descendants of Andrew Hagenbuch, Enoch Hagenbuch (b. 1814) wrote the following: [Jacob Hagenbuch] married Magdalena Wolf, a sister of his brother Henry’s wife. Jacob’s wife was born April 29,...
Family Connections: The Siegfrieds and the Hagenbuchs
The story of our family includes more than just Hagenbuchs. When a couple marries, a new family is connected to ours. Close friends, baptism sponsors, and business partners form other types of alliances too....
John Hagenbuch (b. 1776) and Lehighton’s First Tavern
Take a quick look at the family tree of Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715), and you will see many John Hagenbuchs. My father, Mark, and I have been diligently working to untangle them and their...
Sgt. Isaiah Bomboy Hagenbuch’s Story
As I mentioned in the July 11, 2023 article on visiting cemeteries, an article has never been written about Isaiah Bomboy Hagenbuch who was born in 1836 and died in 1912. However, Isaiah has...
Seven Cemeteries in One Day, Part 2
Back in 1983, I was 30 years old and my father was 66 years “young” as they say. We were both fit and able to walk and walk past rows and rows of gravestones...
Seven Cemeteries in One Day, Part 1
When I was young, my family didn’t go on outings to the circus or trips to Disneyland. We couldn’t afford them. Instead, we stayed in our small rural West Texas town, and my parents...
My Great Great Aunts, Sarah and Eliza: a Mystery or Not?
Andrew and I often deal with mysteries. Facts—such as the names, dates and places we often reference—are solid material. But, it’s the personal details of one’s life, often the unknown, that make my creative...
Corkie Hagenbuch’s Family
A few weeks ago, Andrew reported on the Hagenbuch boy who caught a pheasant while fishing. This got me thinking about Karl “Corkie” Hagenbuch (b. 1905) and his family line. It also resurrected memories...
Andreas Hagenbuch’s Sons-in-Law: Were They Soldiers?, Part 2
In the previous article about the military service of Andreas’ family, readers were reminded that “big doings” are happening over the next eight years in relation to our country’s founding—our 250th anniversary! I remember...
