This Week's Article From the Beech Grove

Hog Butchering 1919 0

Butchering Day Memories from the Farm, Part 1

Last Tuesday was Fastnacht Day here in our part of Pennsylvania. In our Montour County household we called it Doughnut Day. It wasn’t until I moved to York County thirty years ago that I...

Michael Abigail Hagenbuch Homestead 1

Expanding the Hagenbuch Homestead

The Hagenbuch homestead was established on November 4, 1741 when Andreas Hagenbuch received a land warrant for 150.5 acres. The homestead was situated in what is today Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Read more...

Samuel and Susanna "Hess" hagenbuch 0

Samuel and Susanna “Hess” Hagenbuch Family

The idea behind this site is to have a mix of genealogy, history, and family stories – and not just those related to the Hagenbuch family that came primarily from Montour County, PA, i.e....

Jacob Hagenbuch 1777 to 1842 1

Family We Will Never Forget

The other day I heard something that really struck a chord with me. I was listening to an interview with Kevin Kelly, a prolific writer and co-founder of Wired magazine. At the end of...

Boys Lightning Guider Sled Snow 1

Wintertime Memories from Montour County

Preface One problem with writing about memories is that others who experienced those same moments may not remember them the same way. My siblings and cousins who also grew up in Montour County in...

Log House Barn Landis Valley Museum 7

Establishing the Hagenbuch Homestead

Having arrived in Pennsylvania in 1737, Andreas Hagenbuch, his wife Maria Magdalena, and their two children settled in Berks County in 1738. There, they acquired a land warrant for a 200 acre parcel in...

Hagenbuch Blue Mountains Pennsylvania Allemengle 4

Andreas Hagenbuch Acquires Land in Berks County

Andreas Hagenbuch and his family landed in Philadelphia on September 18, 1737. By March 25, 1738, they had a warrant for 200 acres of land in what is today Berks County, Pennsylvania. As noted...

Oak Grove Lutheran Church 4

Montour County Christmas Memories

Rewriting the article on early Christmases last week brought to mind one of the wishes that all genealogists have: that our ancestors would have kept better records, especially of their every day life experiences....

Hagenbuch Cabin Window Christmas 0

Christmas for the Hagenbuchs in Berks County

We all have fond memories of Christmases long ago. The snow seemed deeper, the stoves in our homes warmer, and the excitement of that special time seemed more intense. How did our early ancestors...