Twelve Years On

by Andrew Hagenbuch · Published October 15, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026

Detail of photograph of Andrew Hagenbuch and his son, Henry, at the Hagenbuch Reunion

Hagenbuch.org is almost a teenager, with 12 years of articles, research, and storytelling under its belt! Considering this milestone, it is tough to believe how much time has passed. It seems like only a few years ago that my father, Mark, and I wrote our first articles and began to get our bearings as digital publishers.

Here is an interesting fact: When we first started writing, we didn’t put our names on those early posts. Our thought was that articles should more objective without a personalize author. This practice ended in late 2015, as we approached the site’s first birthday. In retrospect, it was a silly decision. Genealogy is personal, of course, and I have since started to add an author name to those early pieces.

There are now 579 unique articles on the site covering a variety of family topics. This total does not include the posts that have been updated and republished. It’s a huge achievement, and we are on track to exceed 600 articles by next year!

A group of Pennsylvania farmers along Limestone Ridge

One of the big accomplishments of the last twelve months was moving the Hagenbuch Archives to my house in Yardley, Pennsylvania. I now have easier access to my father’s collection of paper records, photographs, and other family artifacts. While sifting through the archives, I found a forgotten picture of Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Hagenbuch and discovered an unlabeled picture of some Pennsylvania farmers.

My father’s memories continue to be an important part of what I share on the site. This year, his remembrances of growing up on a farm were featured again, along with his wintertime recollections from Montour County, PA. I am also grateful that he preserved his story of Uncle Perce going horse-to-tractor with his brother-in-law and that Dad documented Uncle Perce’s family too.

Percy Hagenbuch with a horse and sleigh in Milton, PA, c. 1905

History has always been a big part of this site. This year I republished Enoch Hagenbuch’s “History of the Hagenbuch Family in America,” which was one of the first attempts to document our family’s story in the late 1800s. I analyzed the wills of Christian Hagenbuch (b. 1747) and his father, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715). Andreas served on a grand jury in 1769, which ultimately indicted Thomas Porter for burglary. I also took a second look at Hagenbuch Opera House in Allentown, PA and the location of Hiram Hagenbuch’s (b. 1847) home near Milton, PA. Two other history articles detailed a mineral spring found by Heman Hagenbaugh (b. 1842) and a monster yam grown in Kansas.

Genealogy focuses on family and every year I end up featuring numerous posts about family members and their lines. This past year I enjoyed learning about our Musser cousins, the Hagenbuch brothers of Easton, twin sisters Doris and Dolores Hagenbuch, and Ford “Huck” Hagenbuch’s Ohio roots. I then revisited several earlier pieces about our distant Haugabook cousins in South Carolina, another Hiram Hagenbuch (b. 1842) from Montgomery, and my great grandparents Clarence and Hannah (Sechler) Hagenbuch.

Senior yearbook photos for Doris and Dolores Hagenbuch, 1952

This site is more than just history and family. When my father and I started Hagenbuch.org, we wanted to explore culture and other areas of interest, such as frakturs and the town of Hagenbuch, Switzerland. In the last 12 months, I wrote articles about groundhogs, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving greeting cards. I also republished articles my father wrote about his Christmas memories, what Christmas would have been like for our ancestors in Berks County, and competitive eater Hungry Sam, along with posts about a trip through Hagenbuch country, the scheitholt zither, a fictional book about the Charming Nancy, and the Hagenbuch coat of arms.

One of the most fascinating articles I worked on this past year was about Major Glenn E. Hagenbuch (b. 1918), who piloted B-17 bombers over enemy territory during World War II. Additionally, I happened to find and share the final issue of the Beech Grove newsletter that my father printed in 1992. I even continued my work exploring the impact of AI on genealogy. Last but not least, I enjoyed seeing us come together as a family and celebrate at the 77th Hagenbuch Reunion at Oak Grove Lutheran Church. It’s a tradition we must keep going!

Glenn E. Hagenbuch leans out the window of a B-17 bomber, December 17, 1942

Needless to say, it has been another busy year for Hagenbugh.org and for our family. While the pace of my research has slowed, moving the Hagenbuch Archives to my house has opened new avenues for exploring our ancestors through letters, photographs, and other artifacts.

My goal is to continue sharing family stories, history, and genealogy with you. I hope that you will pitch in and share something too. If you would like to have your family’s information featured on the site, please contact me using Facebook or the email Contact Us form, and make sure to have images, names, and dates ready to share.

Thank you for your continued support!
-Andrew M. Hagenbuch