The 76th Hagenbuch Reunion: What’s It All About?

Seventy three Hagenbuch family reunions were held until it was reorganized in 2018 bringing us all back together. We wanted to invite not just the descendants of William (b. 1807) and Rebecca (Muffley) Hagenbuch, but also the descendants of Andreas (b. 1715) Hagenbuch and his two wives Maria Magdalena (Schmutz) and Anna Maria Margaretha (Friedler). That 2018 reunion was held at the place we were familiar with over the years: Oak Grove Lutheran Church near Pottsgrove, PA. When Andrew and I planned the 75th reunion for 2022, we decided to hold it at another Hagenbuch-centered church—St. John’s Lutheran Church, Delaware Run, near Dewart, PA. When planning this year’s reunion on June 15, 2024, we selected another Hagenbuch church: Hidlay Lutheran Church near Bloomsburg, PA. Be sure to RSVP for the reunion if you haven’t already!

I suppose we should call New Bethel Union church near the Hagenbuch homestead in Berks County our family’s “mother church” as it was the first that our Hagenbuchs attended after arriving here in 1737. However, with Hidlay’s designation of having the most Hagenbuchs buried in one cemetery, and since Hagenbuchs and their allied lines have been so prominent in the history of Hidlay, maybe New Bethel should be called the First Mother Church and Hidlay should be called the Second Mother Church. Although I grew up attending Oak Grove Lutheran and knowing that six generations of Hagenbuchs have attended that church, Hidlay still holds a very important place in my genealogical heart. To Andrew and me, it made sense that Hidlay was to be honored and remembered by holding the 76th reunion there.

On Saturday, May 11th, Andrew and I spent the day visiting some major places for our family. One of those was Hidlay Church. We had made arrangements to have the church and the fellowship hall opened by Earl Harris, father of Julie (Harris) Charleton. Julie has been instrumental in having this year’s reunion occur at Hidlay. In preparation for the reunion at Hidlay, our readers should review the principal role that the Harris family has played in keeping Hidlay chugging along as a living church.

Frank Crawford Harris Family, c. 1930
Front Row (L to R): Paul, Frank, Earl, Susan (Stahl), and Martha VanScoten
Back Row (L to R): Walter, Elsie Derr, Phillip, Fred, Sterling, and Ezra

The first church on this beautiful spot was Presbyterian and built in 1796 thanks to the efforts of local settler, Henry Hidlay. It was a log structure, first called the Briarcreek Meeting House, and eventually pulled in not only Presbyterians for worship but also German Reformed and Lutherans. In 1838, an agreement between these three denominations created shared services and a new frame building was built. Thirty six years before this, in 1802, the first Hagenbuchs began arriving in the area from Berks County, PA. Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1772), his brother Andrew (b. 1785), and their uncle John (b. 1763) put down their roots here, and Hidlay became our Second Mother Church. Henry’s and John’s families continued to stay in the area for many years. They are buried in the cemetery with their descendants.

When Andrew and I arrived at Hidlay on May 11th, there was a contingent of the Harris family present as they were memorializing one of their recently deceased cousins in the cemetery. Linda Harris (my fourth cousin once removed) met us in the parking lot and her father, Alan, also made our acquaintance. They had heard about the Hagenbuch reunion scheduled for June 15th and were excited that all the Harrises were invited to attend. Alan loaned Andrew a list of the Hagenbuchs that were buried in the cemetery, since he needed to map out their whereabouts in preparation for the reunion’s cemetery tour.

Hidlay Lutheran Church, location of the 76th Hagenbuch Reunion

The tour will begin with the graves of my 3rd great grandfather Henry Hagenbuch (b. 1772) and his wife Mary (Wolf), then proceed to Henry’s uncle John (b. 1763), who was the youngest son of Andreas (b. 1715). John was married to Magdalena (Dreisbach) and the couple had eight sons, several of whom are buried at Hidlay. The tour will next visit the graves of Samuel (b. 1806) and Susannah (Hess) Hagenbuch, whose daughter Lydia (b. 1851) married William Stahl (b. 1840). Their daughter Susan (b. 1880) then married Frank Harris (b. 1880). We’ll be stopping by all of their stones to discuss the Hagenbuch-Harris connection at Hidlay. Not everyone gets excited walking through cemeteries to identify our ancestors. But, with the knowledge that Andrew and I have of our Hagenbuchs at Hidlay, a “grave obsession” takes over!

As Andrew planned the cemetery tour, I entered the church itself. It had been many, many years since I had been inside the church. Not only does the church have a special place in my heart as the Second Mother Church, but it is also important to my wife, Linda, and I for personal reasons. Linda’s father, Rev. Roy A. Gutshall (b. 1920), was the Lutheran pastor at Hidlay between 1946 and 1950. We have some special stories about his ministry there and Linda’s mother’s assistance as the minister’s wife. In fact, Andrew just wrote an article in January about his grandparents’ time that they spent at Hidlay.

Gravestones of Jacob and Abilona (Hayman) Hagenbuch. Jacob is a descendant of John (b. 1763).

Walking in the front door, through the vestibule into the church proper, I looked up the main aisle to the altar and was shocked into remembering one of the stories my father-in-law told about Hidlay. In about 1949, it had been decided that Hidlay’s sanctuary would be renovated. Rev. Gutshall knew of a church in Montour County that a few years before had been renovated in the colonial style: white pews with dark wood trim, the altar raised up, and the same style of trim surrounding the ornamental screen. The ornamental screen at Oak Grove Lutheran Church was a Pentecostal red dominated by a centered gold cross. My father-in-law visited Oak Grove before leaving Hidlay Lutheran to accept his next charge in Centre Hall, PA. He had recommended that Hidlay be renovated to look similar to Oak Grove.

And there it was! The shock I experienced was that as I stood inside Hidlay Church I was taken back in time to my boyhood years at Oak Grove. The sanctuaries were even more than similar! Because of Rev. Roy Gutshall’s love of the colonial style—found at Oak Grove, another church dominated by Hagenbuch families—Hidlay was adorned the same. Two Hagenbuch church sanctuaries were beautifully created to be almost indistinguishable to the Glory of God!

The Hidlay Lutheran Church sanctuary (left) compared to the Oak Grove Lutheran Church sanctuary (right). Note the similarities.

I sat in one of the back pews for a half hour or more enjoying the peace of the Hidlay sanctuary and thoughts of Oak Grove as I waited for Andrew to finish preparing the cemetery tour. When he entered the church, I explained what I had found. We familiarized ourselves with the sanctuary as the reunion day will begin in the church. An interesting artifact is a seating chart of those members attending the church in 1807. However, no Hagenbuchs are listed and we believe the reason is that in 1807 the church was still controlled by the Presbyterians. Our Hagenbuchs—Henry, Andrew, and John—were not members since they were Lutherans from Berks County.

After a while, we ventured out of the church and over to the fellowship hall where our potluck lunch will be held. The fellowship hall was originally a schoolhouse, where Hagenbuchs taught school and were educated. The inside is bright and open with enough room to hold a large number of reunion attendees. It has a full kitchen and is ideal for our purposes; plus it does have a one-room schoolhouse feel that some of us older attendees will remember from our early educations. All in all, with the cemetery, the church, and the fellowship hall, Hidlay is the ideal place to hold our reunion this year.

Hidlay Church fellowship hall space, a former one-room schoolhouse

Andrew and I hope that the interest will continue to grow for many of our Hagenbuchs and allied families to attend the reunion on June 15th. To be very serious, we don’t know who will be available to organize and hold the next reunion. We have to make the effort NOW to see our families face to face, to share our lineage and family stories with oral comments, to acknowledge our DNA relationships with handshakes and hugs, and to carry on our traditions that so many other families have lost over the years.

As our ancestors sang many times in the Hidlay Church sanctuary, “Blest be the tie that binds!”