Category: History

Hagenbuch Family Flag 3

Hagenbuch Coat of Arms

The Hagenbuch family has a unique coat of arms which even now is still used by the town of Hagenbuch in Switzerland. The coat of arms depicts a single beech tree surrounded by a...

Barn Fire 1

Hagenbuchs Face Danger on Pennsylvania’s Frontier

It’s difficult to imagine the hardships faced by Andreas Hagenbuch and his family family upon their arrival in Pennsylvania in 1737. Outside of cities like Philadelphia, there were few amenities or protections. Frontier areas...

Sarah Foust Bibby Teacher 0

Sarah Foust: School Teacher in the Early 1900s

On November 1, 1984 Ethel Lillian Bibby, aged 75 years old, died in a nursing home in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.  Unmarried, few of her immediate family were still living. Mark Hagenbuch, Ethel’s 2nd cousin once...

Michael Abigail Hagenbuch Homestead 1

Expanding the Hagenbuch Homestead

The Hagenbuch homestead was established on November 4, 1741 when Andreas Hagenbuch received a land warrant for 150.5 acres. The homestead was situated in what is today Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Read more...

Log House and barn at the Landis Valley Museum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 7

Establishing the Hagenbuch Homestead

In the spring of 1738, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715), his wife Maria Magdalena (Schmutz), and their infant son, Henry (b. 1737), settled on a swampy 200 acre parcel in the Allemaengel region of Pennsylvania....

Detail of the Allemaengel Blue Mountains Hagenbuch Homestead Berks County PA 6

Andreas Hagenbuch Acquires Land in Berks County

Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) and his family landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 18, 1737. They spent that first winter in or nearby the city. As spring approached, Andreas Hagenbuch visited the Pennsylvania Land...

Hagenbuch Cabin Window Christmas 0

Christmas for the Hagenbuchs in Berks County

We all have fond memories of Christmases long ago. The snow seemed deeper, the stoves in our homes warmer, and the excitement of that special time seemed more intense. How did our early ancestors...