The House That Hiram Hagenbuch Built
Ever since first seeing the house on the hill in June of 2015, I have been obsessed. Obsessed in wondering what it was like for my great grandparents and their passel of children to...
Category: History
Gold Fever: The Journal of J. C. Hagenbuch, Part 2
At the end of Part 1 in this series, J. C. Hagenbuch (b. 1862) and his uncle John “Jack” Hagenbuch (b. 1857) had stopped on July 16, 1905 to dry out their supplies after...
Gold Fever: The Journal of J. C. Hagenbuch, Part 1
Jack took the shovel, pick, and pan, and we found a few fine specks of gold. They say we found some “colors.” –J. C. Hagenbuch; Sunday, July 23, 1905 PREFACE In November of 2018,...
Kathryn’s Book
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in possession of many historical items that belonged to the Hagenbuchs and other related families. Andrew and I continue to collect items. These include: a privy bottle, a fraktur,...
What Was In Christian Hagenbuch’s Lost Cask?
This treasure hunt began with a question: What was in Christian Hagenbuch’s lost cask? On December 11th, 1811, the following classified appeared in Relfs Philadelphia Gazette and Daily Advertiser: Cask of Goods Lost, Marked...
Dueling Frogs: R. D. Hagenbuch’s Trade Card
As discussed in a previous article about Dr. Jayne’s Sanative pills, trade cards were a popular form of advertising during the late 1800s. On the front side of a trade card was printed an...
Dying of Grief: Isaac W. Hagenbuch Sentenced to Prison
In 1884, family historian Enoch Hagenbuch (b. 1814) wrote: The Hagenbuchs are not among the distinguished men and women of our beloved land. They are, nevertheless, almost among our best citizens. I never have...
The Privy Bottle, Part 2
This article is the second part in a series. The first part may be read here. After purchasing the privy bottle on eBay, it was taken to a bottle expert—Harry M.—who has collected thousands...
Henry Hagenbuch’s Bridge Over The Lehigh River
So often in genealogy, researching one family or topic will lead to unintended discoveries. Such was the case when I stumbled upon a mention of Henry Hagenbuch’s venture to build a bridge over the...
The Privy Bottle, Part 1
This two-part article tells the fictional story and true facts about a bottle recently discovered in a privy in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. The year was 1875. Mr. Smith, from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, had taken the train...
