Remembering James H. Hagenbuch: Final Thoughts
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...
Category: Opinion
Picnics in the Cemetery
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...
The Next Morning, A Conversation with Andreas Hagenbuch: Part 3
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...
A Trip Across America: History Around Every Corner
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...
A Trip Across America: Family Migrations
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...
The Mysterious Religiosity of Andreas Hagenbuch
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?
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...
On Beech Trees and Dutchiness
For the past year and a half, since Andrew had the idea that our Hagenbuch genealogy should be shared on the Internet through weekly articles, a new awakening has occurred for me. I’ve shared...
A Continued Conversation with Andreas Hagenbuch
Newspaper correspondent John Smith continues his conversation with Andreas Hagenbuch one spring evening in 1784 as told in first person by Mr. Smith. In reference to the previous article, Andreas and his son Michael...
A Conversation with Andreas Hagenbuch
If family historians only worked with names and dates, they would not get to know the type of people their ancestors really were. Many of us have photos of our relatives and ancestors back...
