DNA, Genealogy, and Our Search for Identity
A few weeks ago, I read a story about a man who suspected that he was not the father of his daughter. The little girl had brown eyes, when both parents had blue eyes....
A few weeks ago, I read a story about a man who suspected that he was not the father of his daughter. The little girl had brown eyes, when both parents had blue eyes....
In March of 2015, I wrote an article tracing my journey of becoming a genealogist through my unique family experiences. Since then, Andrew and I have written hundreds of articles about not only our...
Not only is it good to know where we came from, but it is also good to know where we are going. I often think about those few days, seven years ago, when Andrew...
In late 2018, I stumbled upon the Find-A-Grave page for Private James H. Hagenbuch (b. 1922). That evening I wrote to my father: Hey Dad, While working on my article I found what is...
Cemeteries are spooky places, right? After all, during Halloween, people set up plastic gravestones in their front yards to scare the trick-or-treaters. Shortly after arriving in California in 2008, the friend I was staying...
Months ago an imaginary visit and conversation with Andreas Hagenbuch was written about in two articles: Part 1 and Part 2. The visitor who interviewed Andreas one night in 1784 was John Smith, a...
America is a land filled with history. From vast wilderness areas to the most modern cities, some connection to the past can be found – if one cares to look. The first part in...
The story of the Hagenbuch family in America is one about migrations. From Andreas Hagenbuch leaving Europe for Pennsylvania in the 1700s to Enoch Hagenbuch traveling west in the 1800s, our family has been...
Ever since I was a young man and first became acquainted with my great great great great great grandfather, Andreas Hagenbuch through the research of William Hagenbaugh in California, I have been extremely curious...
Do our ancestors matter today? And, if they really do, why? This was the question I asked myself after a conversation with my maternal grandmother, Ethel “Brandt” Gutshall. Ethel, whom I call “Oma” (German...