Birds of a Feather: 18th-Century Berks County
It is a known fact within my immediate family that my sister, Barbara (Hagenbuch) Huffman, is an avid birder. She began educating me 50 years ago when she would take Linda and me to...
Tagged: Hagenbuch homestead
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.”...
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...
Family On The Move: 1500–1800
Like many American families, our Hagenbuch family story is one of movement. It began in Switzerland sometime before the 1500s, migrated to what is now Germany in the 1600s, and finally came to America...
A Winter’s Day in Hagenbuch Country
On a cold January day, my father, Mark Hagenbuch, and I ventured into Hagenbuch country—Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. We had three important stops planned for the day, all of significance to our family....
Painting Portraits of Our Family, Part 2
The primary career of women, like Andreas’ wives, in colonial America was housewife or Hausfrau (that is, running the household) and raising the children. However, Andreas’ daughters and possibly a granddaughter were also likely...
Five Years On
Earlier this year, I was telling someone about a few of the articles that had been published on Hagenbuch.org. Their response: How much can you write about one family? Well, according to our most...
Cemetery Cleanup Day 2019
Last week, several Hagenbuchs made the journey to the Hagenbuch Homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, to clean up the family cemetery there. The cleanup has become a yearly tradition, and the group...
