Our Family Tree: Five Decades of Progress and Counting!
After dealing with our family history for 55 years, I have noticed some things about our genealogical efforts compared to others. This is all about “no brag, just fact” as our Hagenbuch family research has been blessed with plusses. Many family histories are just names, dates, and places. Not us!
For many family histories, once the person working diligently on their genealogy passes on or stops researching (as I did at one point), nothing more is added to the family’s narrative. Many family genealogies do not grow. If they are updated, it’s usually in the areas of names, dates and places, which are important. However, most have little to do with the culture, material possessions, broader history, and many other offshoots that formulate the full story of a family. Get on the internet and check out other family histories. You will understand what I mean.
I was recently reminded how far our history has evolved and grown in the last 55 years. Linda was looking for a backboard of photos depicting me when I was principal here in Northern York County School District—15 years ago! She pulled out a large board with details of our family tree which I must have drawn in the mid-1970s. It has stains on it from something being spilled and the corners are tattered and torn. But, surprisingly, it has a lot of information on it, albeit some of it wrong. The lineage begins with Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) and his two wives whom I listed then as Magdalena and Maria Margaretha. It ends with my father’s generation, hence seven levels of our Hagenbuch family. Along with many names, I did list birth and death dates. It was primarily created to display the details of my Montour County, Pennsylvania family.
Family tree created by Mark O. Hagenbuch, c. 1975
We’ve come so far since I drew this genealogical chart about 45 years ago. This is thanks to the technology that has given us Ancestry, Findagrave, online newspaper archives, military records, and quick access to other genealogists’ research. However, most of all, the advantage our family has had is my son, Andrew! My research had all but stopped after the 11 year run of publishing The Beech Grove ended in 1992. My interest in genealogy was drawn away by my deep involvement in reenacting.
For the next 20 years I did little to update our family’s information and I did almost no research to add others to our family records. I did answer questions that other genealogists would send me. But, it wasn’t until Andrew told me in 2014 that we were going to begin writing an article every week about the family that the bug bit me again. And, that bug has left a huge sting in my heart, mind, and soul.
Looking at the chart from the 1970s and comparing it to Andrew’s brain child, Beechroots—our online family tree, I immediately noticed that we have updated Andreas Hagenbuch’s birthdate from 1711 to 1715. We now know the maiden names of his wives: Maria Magdalena Schmutz and Anna Maria Margaretha Friedler. Thanks to Andrew’s extensive research we now know that daughter Anna Barbara (b.1764), who is listed as first born on the old chart, is the last born to Andreas and his second wife.
The descendants of Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) as recorded in 2024 in Beechroots
Andrew has also corrected the order of birth for the other children of Andreas. We know that first born Henry was born in 1737, not 1736, and that he was married twice. We also believe that the youngest child, Anna Barbara, probably never married and definitely not to Tobias Stapleton (b. 1717). But her sister Maria Magdalena (b.1750) did marry John Stapleton. There are so many other wonderful pieces of information that we now know about Andreas, his wives, and his children. Many previous articles have been written on Hagenbuch.org about these details.
In the third generation of our Hagenbuchs here in America, the old chart lists the children of Michael (b. 1746) and his wife Eva Elizabeth Kunz (b. 1745). On the old chart I have seven children listed. However, our research brought to light that the daughter I listed as Maria Magdalena (b. 1782) married to Abraham Greenawalt was actually two sisters in my one! Check out Beechroots for these new details. Two of Michael’s and Eva Elizabeth’s daughters are now listed: Maria Magdalena (b. 1782, d. 1783) and Magdalena (b. 1787, d. 1872, m. Abraham Greenawalt).
The chart lists the next generation, descended from Michael’s son Henry (b. 1772), my 3rd great grandfather. In 1802, Henry moved from Lehigh County (after having grown up on the homestead in Berks County) to Columbia County which was then part of Northumberland County. According to the most recent research, he and wife Anna Maria “Mary” Wolf (b. 1774) had eight children, one of which was my great great grandfather, William (b. 1807). For many years, we incorrectly believed that his birth year was 1808. On the old family chart, I listed an extra child, Magdalena, and noted her birth date as 1799. This was information that I had gathered from other genealogists’ work, most likely William L. Hagenbaugh (b. 1878)—a prolific Hagenbuch family genealogist.
Down the road to Ethan Allen Farm, Burlington, Vermont, c. 1900. Credit: Loc.gov
In following the next three generations of descendants from William Hagenbuch (b. 1807), I can find no mistakes. This is understandable because these are the folks that either I knew personally or were known by my great uncles, great aunts, and my grandfather, Clarence (b. 1889). They were household names and our family photo archives are filled with their images.
How far have we come? Miles and miles down the road as Andrew and I get closer to the near perfection of a genealogical Shangri-La. Looking back at a 45 year old genealogical chart presents us with the evidence that we possess an ever-evolving family history. I urge all of our readers to look back and read previous articles on this site. It is the best evidence of all that we have created some of the best and most interesting stories about a family, rooted in research. We Hagenbuchs and allied families, descended from Andreas and his two wives, hold our brightly lit candle high and are not to be outshone. No brag, just fact!
