Enjoy the Banquet, Dad. We love you.
Mark O. Hagenbuch, cofounder of this site, died on February 25, 2025. Two services were arranged for him, according to his final wishes. The first was held on March 15th at St. John’s Lutheran...
Category: Family
Norman E. Hagenbuch’s Eyebrow-Raising Matchbooks
Matchbooks, printed with advertisements, were once a popular way to promote businesses. In a time before cheap, pocket lighters, matches were the most convenient way to light a candle or start a fire. The...
Connecting Families in Marion Township, Henry County, Iowa
Receiving comments and emails from readers is one of the best parts of running Hagenbuch.org. Recently, I was contacted by Jean whose family roots are in Mount Pleasant—a small town in Marion Township, Henry...
William Hagenbuck: From Soldier To Entrepreneur
It is well documented that the Hagenbuch name changed in spelling and pronunciation as family members moved west. For instance, at least one group of relatives was using “Hagenbuck” by the 1840s. These individuals...
Finding the Hagenbuchs of Birdsboro
In January of 2023, we received a message from Joy Nairn inquiring about her Reichelderfer ancestors. The Reicheldersfers were neighbors of the Hagenbuchs in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and they lived at the...
New Year’s Day: The Importance of Days
Is there an importance to having New Year’s Day as a significant day in our legacy? It would take hours to sift through Beechroots to find our ancestors that were born exactly on January...
The Heart of the Family
Every family has a heart, and while it isn’t a literal organ—like the one the beats inside us—this heart is an essential, living part of all families. I have been thinking about our family...
Imperfectly Perfect Gifts
One of the many joys of Christmas is the delight that comes from giving and receiving gifts. What child hasn’t wished for some item, written a letter to Santa, or dropped hints to their...
Willoughby G. Hagenbuch: A Rich Life in Spite of Adversity
About a month ago, I saw a piece of Hagenbuch history for sale on eBay. It was a postcard sent on August 4, 1967 by Willie Hagenbuch of Bowmanstown, Pennsylvania to Félix Duval of...
Giving Care to Our Ill Relatives
As you know, I am now on hospice care due to the advancement of prostate cancer. I was still hoping to buy more time; but two weeks ago, after my wife Linda, my oncologist,...
