Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser and Our Musser Cousins

In his 1884 history of the Hagenbuch family, Enoch Hagenbuch (b. 1814) wrote of his aunt:

One of Michael’s daughters, Margaretta [sic], married Jacob Mosser. She was born Oct. 23, 1779. They moved to Penn’s Valley, Center Co., Pa., in the year 1800. She died there June 15, 1851, aged 71 yrs., 7 m., 22 d.

Last month, I received an email from Stephanie (Dinges) Bender of Florida about her connection to the Hagenbuch family. She had first reached out to my father, Mark, and me in 2020. Stephanie is a distant cousin descended from Andreas Hagenbuch’s (b. 1715) granddaughter, Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser (b. 1779). This makes Stephanie’s family line: Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) > Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1746) > Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser (b. 1779) > Michael Mosser/Musser (b. 1803) > Absolom Musser (b. 1833) > Robert Duncan Musser (b. 1854) > Orpha Irene (Musser) Dinges (b. 1887) > Robert Harry Dinges (b. 1922) > Stephanie (Dinges) Bender. This makes Stephanie and me 6th cousins with our last common ancestor being Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1746).

Stephanie (Dinges) Bender exploring Zion Reformed Cemetery in Pottstown, PA

Female lines are frequently underrepresented in our Hagenbuch family history. The primary reason for this is that, traditionally, women have taken their husband’s last names when marrying. This obscures their birth surname from most written records, making it challenging to trace female lineages back across the generations.

Still, we have had some success in doing so. A few years ago, my father wrote a series of articles about our Kistler cousins who were descended from Andreas’ daughter, Christina (Hagenbuch) Kistler (b. 1759). Using the Kistler series as inspiration, I wanted to explore what we know about Andreas’ granddaughter, Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser, and her family.

Margaretha Hagenbuch was born on March 21, 1779 at the family homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was the fifth child of Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1746) and Eva Elizabeth (Kunz) Hagenbuch (b. 1745). There is some disagreement on Margaretha’s birthdate. Enoch notes she was born in October while her gravestone suggests she was born in February. The March birthdate cited in this article comes from the New Bethel Church records, where the Hagenbuchs attended. They also include that she was baptized on March 28, 1779, with the sponsors being her great uncle Jacob Hagenbuch (b. 1725) and aunt Anna Margaretha Hagenbuch (b. 1761).

Around 1800, Margaretha married Jacob Mosser. Jacob was born on April 20, 1775 in Lynn Township, Northampton County, PA. Today, Lynn Township is part of Lehigh County. Jacob was the son of Johann Philip Mosser (b. 1730) and Maria Barbara (Oswald) Mosser (b. 1735). (Some sources record Maria Barbara’s birth surname as Krangelich.) After marrying, the couple moved westward, across the Susquehanna River, to Haines Township, Centre County, PA. It is likely they followed or traveled with other Mossers there. The 1800 census shows a Philip Mosser nearby, who may have been a brother or cousin.

Michael Musser, eldest son of Jacob and Margaretha, c. 1860

Jacob worked as a farmer and the couple had a large family. Together, they had nine children that survived to adulthood. There were likely others that died young and haven’t been recorded. Their children were: Michael (b. 1803, d. 1888, m. Elizabeth Homan); Mary Magdalene (b. 1805, d. 1856, m. Samuel Hess); Andrew (b. 1807, d. 1863, m. Rachel Hubler); Catherine (b. 1809, d. 1885, m. Jesse Vore); Rebecca (b. 1811, d. 1869, m. Henry Reeser); Philip (b. 1815, d. 1895, m. Mary Hubler); Anna (b. 1818, d. 1891, m. John Kerstetter); Lydia (b. 1819, d. 1886); and John (b. 1821, d. 1898, m. Susan Dale). These children and their descendants have their own unique stories, some of which Stephanie has been working to compile and a future article will explore.

Similar to the Hagenbuch name, over time the Mosser name changed too. By the mid-1800s, the family had adopted the spelling “Musser.” Mosers, Mossers, and Mussers can be found throughout Pennsylvania today. Most of these families are rooted in the same name.

In 1850, Jacob and Margaretha were living together on their large farm—valued at $8,000 on that year’s census. Jacob was now 75 years old and had not yet retired. Their children were grown and had started their own families, many choosing to stay nearby in Penn’s Valley. One daughter, Lydia, didn’t marry. The 1850 census records that she was living with her parents on the farm and, most likely, helping to care for them as they aged.

Detail of the gravestones for Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser and Jacob Mosser. Credit: Findagrave.com/LSK

Margaretha (Hagenbuch) Mosser died on January 15, 1851. She is buried in Stover Cemetery in Aaronsburg, Centre County, PA. Her husband, Jacob, died on August 26, 1853 and was buried beside his wife.

Female lines, although more challenging to research, represent half of the descendants of Andreas Hagenbuch. Thanks to dedicated genealogists like Stephanie, we are able to add our Moser/Mosser/Musser cousins to our family tree and begin to rediscover their important stories.

Special thanks to Stephanie (Dinges) Bender for providing information and photographs for this article!