If These Walls Could Talk
If these walls could talk, what stories would they tell? This question keeps running through my mind as I decorate the house that my wife, Sara, and I bought a few months ago. The...
This Week's Article From the Beech Grove
If These Walls Could Talk
If these walls could talk, what stories would they tell? This question keeps running through my mind as I decorate the house that my wife, Sara, and I bought a few months ago. The...
Thoughts on Christian Hagenbuch’s Last Will and Testament
Christian Hagenbuch was born on December 17, 1747 at the Hagenbuch Homestead in present-day Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Back then, Albany Township was on the frontier and still part of Philadelphia County within...
Wishing You a Peaceful Thanksgiving
There is something delightful about old postcards—the thoughtful designs, bright colors, and embossed illustrations. Many resemble snapshot photographs, while others look more like greeting cards. About a month ago, I noticed a postcard on...
Homestead Cemetery Cleanup Day, 2025
Last weekend a new generation of Hagenbuchs visited the family homestead for the first time. Getting there, however, was a perfect example of Murphy’s Law. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong! We...
Eleven Years On
Honestly, I can’t believe that another year of Hagenbuch.org has come and gone. Eleven years now—was there ever a time I was not working on genealogy and brainstorming another article for this site? As...
Christian Hagenbuch’s Last Will and Testament
Christian Hagenbuch (b. 1747) was the third son of Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715), who immigrated to America in 1737. He was born December 17, 1747 in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania to Andreas and...
Dog Guards Fallen Boy From Death on Tracks
Searching for one thing can occasionally lead a person to encounter something unexpected and yet equally as fascinating. This has happened to me when researching families, and most recently occurred while looking for the...
Good Things Come in Threes
They say good things come in threes: three wishes, three gifts of the Magi, and for my wife, Sara, and I, three children. In August, we welcomed a third child to our family—a daughter—Rosanna...
Book Review: “How We Ate: Pennsylvania Dutch Foodways”
Historical research is challenging, especially when it is on a niche topic like our Hagenbuch family. Good sources are few and far between and, when you do find something, it is often incomplete. Earlier...
Ray Hagenbaugh and the LAPD Shrine Club
There are multiple lines of Hagenbaughs living in the United States. These Hagenbaughs are actually Hagenbuchs. It’s just that their pronunciation and spelling of our family name has changed over time. California is one...
