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, Pennsylvania. That family, the one I am part of, is descended from William Hagenbuch (b. 1807) and Rebecca (Muffley) Hagenbuch (b. 1816). In line with this mission, we present a genealogical article on the Samuel Hagenbuch (b. 1806) and Susanna (Hess) Hagenbuch (b. 1813) family. Samuel was a brother to the William Hagenbuch mentioned above. William is my great, great grandfather which makes Samuel my great, great, great uncle.
The photograph accompanying this article, taken about 1880, was provided by Mrs. Ann (Harris) Brandt of Mifflinville, PA. Ann is a long-time genealogist and a 4th cousin of mine. (Ann Harris died in 2023, after this article was originally published.) Interestingly, Ann’s husband, Jim Brandt, is a first cousin once removed to my wife, Linda, whose mother was Ethel (Brandt) Gutshall. Genealogists revel in making connections from one family to another!
Ann (Harris) Brandt at the grave of Phillip Harris in Luzerne County, PA. Phillip was the father of Frank Crawford Harris.
Samuel’s family line is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Michael (b. 1746) > Henry (b. 1772) > Samuel (b. 1806). He was born in Columbia County, PA. His father, Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1772), and mother, Mary (Wolf) Hagenbuch (b. 1774), had moved from Albany Township, Berks County, PA to Centre Township (now North Centre Township), Columbia County, PA in October of 1802. They had nine children, two of whom were Samuel and William.
Samuel Hagenbuch and Susanna Hess married in 1837 and most likely inherited father Henry’s farm when he died in 1850. (The farm’s location is northeast of Hidlay Church near the intersection of Harris Road and Lightstreet-Fowlersville Road.) It was passed from Samuel when he died in 1884 to his son-in-law and daughter, William Stahl (b. 1840) and Lydia (Hagenbuch) Stahl (b. 1851). Then, it was sold to their daughter and her husband, Frank Harris (b. 1880) and Susan (Stahl) Harris (b. 1880), who are the grandparents of Ann (Harris) Brandt. Therefore, the farm purchased in 1802 by Andreas’ grandson Henry (b. 1772) has stayed in the family for six generations!
Samuel and Susanna (Hess) Hagenbuch with their children, c. 1880
In the photo, top row left to right: Julia (b. 1840, m. John Miller), Isaiah Hagenbuch (b. 1844, m. Mary Mauser), Mary Margaret (b. 1841, m. George Breisch), and Sarah “Sally” (b. 1846, m. Horace Creasy).
Center row left to right: Hester (b. 1837, m.1. Charles Goodman, m.2. Jonathan Krum), Samuel Hagenbuch (b. 1806), Susanna (Hess) Hagenbuch (b. 1813), and Caroline (b. 1838, m. Franklin Shuman).
Bottom row left to right: Diana (b. 1848, m. Clinton Shuman), Matura (b. 1856, m. James Mills), Mahala (b. 1854, m. William Harrison Brewer), and Lydia (b. 1851, m. William Stahl).
There were actually eleven children born to Samuel and Susanna. Catherine (b. 1859) is not pictured as she died in 1859 at seven months old. There are many descendants of the remaining ten children, some of the names still common in that area of Columbia County: Shuman, Creasy, Stahl, and the Harris families.
The only son, Isaiah, was born in 1844 and died in 1911. He is buried in Danville, Pennsylvania. He served in the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War. He and his wife, Mary (Mauser), had two children: Nora (b. 1872, m. Daniel Shuman) and Franklin W. (b. 1874, m. Emma Diehl).
Ann Brandt (the great, great granddaughter of Samuel) has shared that Samuel never spoke English—only German—although he understood English! We take that to mean he could be a stubborn fellow. Also, he was killed in an accident in 1884. According to Ann:
[Samuel Hagenbuch] fell while stepping over a tumbling bar leading from a horse-powered tread mill to a machine inside the barn which he built (perhaps in 1864). Samuel was thrown and hit his head on the stone threshold to the second floor of the barn. He lived several days, but died without regaining consciousness.
He and his wife Susanna, who died in 1891, are buried at Hidlay Church Cemetery.
Gravestone of Samuel and Susanna (Hess) Hagenbuch at Hidlay Church Cemetery. Credit: Findagrave.com/BoBK
Contributor Ann Brandt’s family line from Andreas is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Michael (b. 1746) > Henry (b. 1772) > Samuel (b. 1806) > Lydia (b. 1851, m. William Stahl) > Susan Stahl (b. 1880, m. Frank Harris) > Walter Harris (b. 1910) > Ann Harris (b. 1935, m. James Brandt). To show their relationship to me, my Hagenbuch family line is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Michael (b. 1746) > Henry (b. 1772) > William (b. 1807) > Hiram (b. 1847) > Clarence (b. 1889) > Homer (b. 1916) > Mark (b. 1953).
This article was updated on June 17, 2025 to include new images, updated formatting, and additional information.
