Category: History

Christina Greenawald Hagenbuch 1890 0

Enoch Hagenbuch: Early Family Historian, Part 2

Enoch Hagenbuch (b. 1814) continues his history of the Hagenbuch family (Read: Part 1) as he relates names and dates for his brother Nathan, his children (Enoch’s nieces and nephews), and a sister who...

Enoch Hagenbuch 1890 1

Enoch Hagenbuch: Early Family Historian, Part 1

Enoch Hagenbuch was a great grandson of Andreas Hagenbuch (Andreas b. 1711, Michael b. 1746, Jacob b. 1777, Enoch b. 1814). In 1884 he wrote a manuscript detailing what he knew of the Hagenbuch...

Johann Martin Bely (Bailey) fraktur detail 1

Hagenbuch Family Birth and Baptism Frakturs

Birth and baptismal records are an important source of genealogical information. Most notably, they provide the birth dates of individuals. However, they also reveal family relationships such as parents and, in the case of...

Hagenbuch Opera House Bowen Grocery Allentown 3

The Hagenbuch Opera House, Allentown’s First Theater

Allentown, Pennsylvania’s first major theater opened in 1870 near the corner of 8th and Hamilton Streets. It was known by several names including the Academy of Music and Military Hall. However, most locals referred...

Mark Hagenbuch Hog Butchering 1959 1

A Picture’s Worth: Butchering Day Redux

“A picture is worth a thousand words” is an oft-heard phrase first coined in 1911 by newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane. In the article Butchering Day Memories From the Farm, Part 1, I mentioned a...

Hagenbuch Family Flag 1737 4

Hagenbuch Coat of Arms

The Hagenbuch family has a unique coat of arms that, 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 4

Hagenbuchs Face Danger on Pennsylvania’s Frontier

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

Sarah Foust Teacher 1902 Detail 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. She was unmarried and few of her immediate family were still living. Mark Hagenbuch—Ethel’s second...

Detail of an image of Michael and Abigail (Stapleton) Hagenbuch's names 2

Expanding the Hagenbuch Homestead

The Hagenbuch Homestead was established on November 4, 1741 when Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) received a land warrant for 150.5 acres. The homestead parcel was situated in what is today Albany Township, Berks County,...