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: Jacob Hagenbuch
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...
Missing Person: Thomas H. Hagenbuch, Salesman & Telegraph Operator
On Friday, August 15, 1902, The Allentown Morning Call ran the following front page headline: MISSING FROM THEIR HOMES Mysterious Disappearance of T. H. Hagenbuch of This City MANAGER OF THE WESTERN UNION Left...
Discovery: The Sunday School Book of Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1833)
Our Hagenbuch family is full of mysteries. Some arise from our inability to know the thoughts and intentions of our ancestors, while others stem from fragmented historical records. Both complicate the process of telling...
John D. Hagenbuch Testifies Before Congress and Meets Samuel Gompers
On Tuesday, June 24, 1902, twenty-eight-year-old John D. Hagenbuch (b. 1874) sat before the United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor in Washington, D.C. A series of hearings had been convened to listen...
Making Bank: Clues About Hagenbuchs and Their Money
There was a time in American history when a dollar wasn’t always a dollar and when your local bank was more likely to have printed the paper money in your wallet than the federal...
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...
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...
Family Politics
Like many Americans, politics has been on my mind recently. This led me to wonder: How did our Hagenbuch ancestors participate in the politics of their time? After a bit of digging, I stumbled...
