Finding the Hagenbuch Brothers, Clothiers of Easton
A few days ago, I saw an old trade card advertisement being sold on eBay. The card was from the late 19th century and depicted a cat dressed with a bow around its neck along with the name of the One-Price Clothing House of Easton, Pennsylvania. At the bottom of the card, there was a message stating that the business was located at “Hagenbuch Bros. Old Stand.”
The trade card caused me to remember a newspaper clipping I had seen a number of years before. The following was published in The North American of Philadelphia on Monday, October 2, 1882:
Hagenbuch Brothers, clothiers of Easton, who on Friday commenced a suit against M. Hirshfeld, a rival dealer, for criminal libel, instituted a civil suit on Saturday against the same man, claiming $25,000 damages. Hirshfeld had printed and circulated posters reciting “the downfall of the Hagenbuch brothers,” which the latter considered libelous, and on which the criminal and civil suits are based.
Using the above information, I wanted to learn more about the Hagenbuch brothers, how they were related to us, and what happened to them. What I found was a sad story connected to a previous article from this site.
Trade card for the One-Price Clothing House, which was located at the former site of Hagenbuch Brothers’ store
Finding the sibling owners of Hagenbuch Brothers proved challenging. I began by searching old newspaper archives for the name of the business. This returned some advertisements for the clothing retailer that was once located at 508 and 510 Northampton Street in Easton. The establishment apparently manufactured and sold suits for men and boys, as well as overcoats. These could be bought wholesale or retail without haggling. Hagenbuch Brothers had opened its doors for business in 1880. Still, I couldn’t find the names of the Hagenbuchs who owned the store.
I had a hunch that the brothers might be descendants of Christian Hagenbuch’s (b. 1747) son, Joseph (b. 1795). Joseph owned the Black Horse Tavern in Easton, which eventually became the United States Hotel. Some of his descendants were still living in the city in the late 1800s. However, much to my surprise, they were not among the owners of Hagenbuch Brothers.
The correct owners were actually descendants of Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1737). To determine this, I had to dig into local directories, specifically the Easton City Directory from 1883. It listed an entry for Victor E. Hagenbuch, who was recorded as working at Hagenbuch Bros. Jackpot! Now, with one name, I went looking for the name of his brother and co-owner.
The children of Jacob and Elizabeth (Loehr) Hagenbuch. Credit: Beechroots.com
Beechroots had entries for the whole immediate family, including Victor’s youngest brother John Daniel Hagenbuch (b. 1874) who was featured in a previous piece. Unfortunately, John was too young to have been working with his brother in 1880. Victor’s older brother, Thomas Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1851), was another possibility and, in fact, he and Victor appeared to be quite close.
As I wrote in a 2022 piece about Thomas:
Research shows that during the mid-1880s, Thomas H. Hagenbuch was living in Philadelphia with his brother, Victor E. Hagenbuch, and working as a salesman at Wanamaker & Brown.
So the answer had been on Hagenbuch.org all along. Victor and Thomas Hagenbuch were brothers who—for a time—worked together in clothing retail, suggesting that they were the co-owners of Hagenbuch Brothers in Easton.
Victor Eugene Hagenbuch was born on February 25, 1859 to Jacob and Elizabeth (Loehr) Hagenbuch in Moorestown, Northampton County, PA. His line is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Henry (b. 1737) > Jacob (b. 1765) > Daniel (b. 1803) > Jacob (b. 1830) > Victor Eugene (b. 1859). He married Agnes Drummond Struthers on July 25, 1880. The couple had one daughter together, Adell C, who was born on June 9, 1881.
In September of 1880, Victor and his older brother, Thomas, opened Hagenbuch Brothers in Easton—a few blocks from the center of the city. While Victor moved there to run the store, Thomas appears to have lived with his family about 15 miles away in Allentown, PA and may have traveled to Easton to help his brother. Details about Thomas’ life were covered in an article about his disappearance in 1902.
According to the September 9, 1882 edition of the Free Press, the brothers’ clothing store was successful in its first two years of business. Yet, things are not always as they seem. A few weeks later on September 30th, another newspaper—the Harrisburg Telegraph—reported the following:
A Tailor Sued for Libel
Sheriff Herman, of Northampton County, levied upon the stock of Hagenbuch Brothers, clothiers, of Easton, a few days ago, on a judgement held by a Philadelphia Man. The firm, as the quickest way out, allowed the sheriff to proceed. M. Hirshfeld, who is also a clothier, got out posters ridiculing Hagenbuch Brothers, and yesterday they had him arrested for criminal libel, and today they instituted a civil suit, claiming $25,000.
It seems Victor and Thomas may have bought clothing or textiles (the “stock” referred to in the above) but had been unable to pay for it in a timely manner. As a result, the seller took his complaint to a judge, who ordered a sheriff to recover the value of the unpaid merchandise from their store’s stock.
Christmas advertisement for Hagenbuch Brothers from the “Free Press”, December 3, 1883
Seeing his competitor’s legal and financial troubles, Moses Hirshfeld hung posters around the city touting the downfall of Hagenbuch Brothers. These told how the establishment sold poor quality clothing and that the sheriff had confiscated $17,000 of its stock. Victor and Thomas turned around and filed a charge of criminal libel against Hirshfeld, who was arrested. (In the 19th century, libel was a criminal offense, whereas today it is almost exclusively a civil matter.) Along with the criminal complaint, the brothers filed a civil suit, alleging $25,000 in damages from Hirshfeld’s actions. (In 2026, this is around $800,000!)
While Hagenbuch Brothers didn’t immediately go out of business, as Hirshfeld believed it would, numerous problems remained for the store. First, Victor and Thomas lost both their criminal and civil complaints against Hirshfeld, resulting in the two parties splitting the legal fees. Second, the business continued to struggle financially. In February of 1884, the sheriff returned to Hagenbuch Brothers to recover $2,464 worth of stock. Unable to pay their vendors, the retailer was forced to close in early March of the same year.
On March 24, 1884, an advertisement in the Free Press touted that the One-Price Clothing House had opened in “Hagenbuch Bros. Old Stand” on 510 Northampton Street. It seems that Hagenbuch Brothers was sold and reopened under new ownership, without the Hagenbuch name. After their store closed, Victor and Thomas left for Philadelphia, PA. Here, they joined the growing department store retailer, Wanamaker & Brown, as clothing salesmen. Their positions eventually transitioned to traveling salesmen for the department store, permitting them to return to their families and sell clothing closer to home.
Wanted advertisement placed by Victor E. Hagenbuch looking for help selling clothing in Lancaster, PA, from the “Lancaster Era News”
Thomas left his traveling salesman job in 1889 for a position with Menges’—a clothing retailer in Allentown, PA. He eventually went missing in 1902. Victor continued to work in sales at Wanamaker & Brown, selling clothing in Bethlehem, PA (where he lived) as well as other nearby cities. On August 31, 1888, he ran an advertisement in the Lancaster Era News for sales help in Lancaster, PA. This shows that Victor traveled as far central Pennsylvania to drum up business and reveals that he was an ambitious salesman.
Sadly, his health began to fail in the mid-1890s, perhaps due to the stress of his job. According to his obituary in The Allentown Leader, Victor started having “brain trouble” in July of 1896, suggesting he had some type of mental health condition. His brother and former business partner, Thomas, took him to Friends’ Asylum in the greater Philadelphia area. In early September of 1897, doctors notified Victor’s family that he had contracted diphtheria and was near death. He died at home in Bethlehem on September 12, 1897 and was buried at Nisky Hill Cemetery in Bethlehem. His wife, Agnes, was remarried in 1901 to Rudolph H. Kitner (b. 1852). She died in 1933 and is buried with him in Stroudsburg Cemetery, Monroe County, PA.
Gravestone for Victor E. Hagenbuch. Credit: Findagrave.com/Tom Myers
Victor’s daughter, Adell, went on to marry Edwin Bush Turn, and the couple lived in the Stroudsburg, PA area. She had two children, Kenneth Edwin (b. 1901) and Jean (b. 1904). Adell’s obituary from 1963 notes that she had five grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Noting this, there are almost certainly descendants of Victor and Agnes (Drummond) Hagenbuch still living today. It is possible that one of them will find this article and reach out. Maybe that relative has a picture of Victor E. Hagenbuch or knows more about his store, Hagenbuch Brothers? We can only hope!
