Homestead Economics: Leather Tanning
Life at the Hagenbuch Homestead stank—quite literally! By the early 1800s, the homestead had a sizable tannery, large enough to be recorded on at least one map of the area as the “Hagenbuch Tanyard.”...
Tagged: Albany Township
Homestead Economics: Flax, Linen, and Other Fibers
In 18th-century America, before cotton was king, flax was the fiber that ruled the fields. Used to weave linen fabric, people depended upon quality flax for a number of textile products—shirts, tablecloths, breeches, sheets,...
Homestead Economics: Introduction
How did Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715, d. 1785), his immediate family, and his descendants make a living in the 18th and early 19th centuries? Today, we develop skills, find jobs, and build careers in...
Tax Collector, Andreas Hagenbuch, Appointed By Abraham Lincoln
If you are reading the title of this article and feeling a bit confused—good! That means you have realized Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715, d. 1785) could never have known, let alone been appointed as...
Hagenbuchs and Sechlers Entwined
Back in about 1978, I first walked through the graveyard at New Bethel Union Church near the Hagenbuch homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. I had been looking for the farm where Andreas...
Our Kistler Cousins: a Teacher and a Daughter
The impetus behind me deciding to write about our Kistler family occurred over a month ago. I was thinking about people I knew from my experiences here in northern York County, Pennsylvania when I...
Sherlocking the Kistlers
When Andrew and I put together an article, we look for a story that will have some interest, a historical or cultural relationship to our family, and some photos. With more resources available due...
Making Sense of Christian Hagenbuch’s Family
Last year, we explored how two Christian Hagenbuchs of about the same age were living in Ohio during the mid-1800s. These were Christian (b. 1770) who was the son of Michael (b. 1746) and...
Henry Hagenbuch’s Revised Birth and Death: The Impact
As my father, Mark, and I have often written, genealogy is much more than names and dates. But what happens when a crucial part of our family’s story is dependent upon one or two...
Henry Hagenbuch’s Revised Birth and Death: The Evidence
Genealogy is like a giant jigsaw puzzle—one where key pieces are missing and a clear picture of what is being assembled is unknown. This article, the first in a two-part series, will examine a...
