Who’s There Now? Finding Family in Philadelphia

Ebay is a great place to find family artifacts and memorabilia. Search Hagenbuch.org and you will find many different items that were located through the online auction site, such as matchbooks, Taufscheine, bottles, and postcards.

In early May, I purchased a 45 RPM vinyl record on eBay. According the label, it was made by Dave Hagenbuch and included an original song titled, “Who’s There Now”. Side A featured Dave singing the song, while Side B was the song without the vocal track.

I have written before about the importance of preserving analog media, especially home movies stored on magnetic video tape. That said, I don’t own a record player, and I couldn’t even listen to the 45 after I received it from the seller. Thankfully, my wife, Sara, has access to one and was able to digitize both sides of the record with the help of her wonderful colleagues.

My first impression of the song, after listening to the style of the music, was that it was recorded in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I guessed that the singer, Dave Hagenbuch, must have been at least 18 years old and no more than 35. Markings on the record label, showed that it had been made at Soundspace Productions in Marlton, New Jersey. Marlton is close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I knew some members of the Hagenbuch family lived.

Using these details, I began to scour Philadelphia newspaper archives for mentions of a Dave or David Hagenbuch during the 1950s and 1960s. I immediately got a hit from 1957 describing how a David Hagenbuch, age three, had been rescued from a railroad track. This David seemed like he could have been the mystery musician. However, upon further research, I learned that his family moved away from that area by the 1960s.

Next, I expanded my newspaper search to include the 1970s and 1980s. The results included the following mention in the Philadelphia Daily News from May 29, 1981:

THE FOUR MUSICIAN’S in Harmony at Masters Restaurant in the Northeast, also perform with for the Polish American String Band. The Polish foursome group that copped the first prize in this year’s Mummer’s Parade includes Joe Bujnowski, Dave and Rick Hagenbuch, and Matt Mansi.

Richard “Dick” Allen Hagenbuch Sr., c. 2010

This was promising and was further supported by a 2021 obituary I found for Richard “Dick” Allen Hagenbuch Sr. after searching online. Richard Sr. (b. 1931) was from Philadelphia, had a passion for carpentry and music, and had two sons: Richard Jr. “Rick” and David “Dave”. Using this information, I located Richard Jr. on Facebook and messaged him. I also found a phone number for David, although this didn’t work.

Richard Jr. got back to me and confirmed that he and his brother, David, had performed together in the Polish American String Band. Richard grew up in Philadelphia and currently lives across the Delaware River in New Jersey. His family continues to play with the Polish American String Band, which performs in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade on New Years Day each year. While many Hagenbuchs connect with their Swiss-German ancestry or Pennsylvania Dutch roots, these relatives are passionate about their Polish heritage. This comes from their mother, Bernice C. Sarzynski (b. 1932), who married Richard “Dick” A. Hagenbuch Sr. in 1956.

Much to my surprise, Richard Sr. and Bernice (Sarzynski) Hagenbuch were not in Beechroots. Yet, here were their descendants living only about 30 miles from my home in Yardley, PA. I kept wondering how I was related to them and where on Andreas Hagenbuch’s (b. 1715) family tree they should be placed.

According to Richard Sr.’s obituary, he was born in Palmerton, PA on August 18, 1931 to Oliver Wendell Hagenbuch (b. 1905) and Ella Irene (Messinger) Hagenbuch (b. 1911). Oliver wasn’t in Beechroots either, although his father, Charles Edgar Hagenbuch (b. 1874), was there. I could now add Richard Jr. and David Hagenbuch to our family tree. Their line is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Henry (b. 1737) > John (b. 1776) > Reuben (b. 1805) > John Henry (b. 1839) > Charles Edgar (b. 1874) > Oliver Wendell (b. 1905) > Richard “Dick” Sr. (b. 1931) > Richard “Rick” Jr. and David “Dave”.

David Hagenbuch singing at the keyboard, c. 2000

I still wanted to hear from David directly to confirm he had made the record. I eventually tracked him down on Facebook and within few days he replied. David confirmed that he had recorded “Who’s There Now” in 1980 and had performed with his family in the Polish American String Band. In time, he went on to perform with another mummer group, the Fralinger String Band. All of the discussion about mummers and music made me realize that I know very little about the history of the Philadelphia’s mummers. Interestingly, it has been suggested that Belsnickel and mumming are similar winter traditions. However, an in-depth look at this will be saved for a future article!

After confirming that he was the artist who recorded “Who’s There Now”, David provided me with a link to a video from 1995. It showed him playing keyboard at a jam session of the Fralinger String Band. Watching the video made me realize that mummer bands create a community that is built upon music—a passion that is core to this group of Hagenbuchs.

It extends beyond David and Richard Jr. too. The two brothers have three sisters: Christina (Hagenbuch) Magenta, Pamela (Hagenbuch) Krajewski, and Nancy (Hagenbuch) Krajewski. Not to mention, there are two more generations after these siblings. Richard Sr.’s obituary described how much he was adored by his ten grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

When David Hagenbuch recorded “Who’s There Now” in 1980, it’s unlikely that he imagined the significance of the song for genealogists. The 45 RPM vinyl record, found on eBay, captured my attention and got me wondering about how the artist who made it was related to us. With a bit of research and some good luck, I was able to make contact with a branch of our Hagenbuch family and place them on our tree.