Author: Andrew Hagenbuch

Watercolor Geiger Family Farm 1810 Lewis Miller 1

Homestead Economics: Conclusion

This series of articles started with a question: What economic activities contributed to the success of the Hagenbuch Homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania? Before beginning to write, I already had some ideas....

Eichelberger Distillery Dills Tavern Pot Still 0

Homestead Economics: Distilling Liquor

Many early American farmers distilled their own liquor, not just for their own consumption but also for additional income. According to Mount Vernon, where George Washington ran a sizable distillery, the average Virginia distiller...

Colonial Woman Farm Chickens 1

Homestead Economics: Crops, Livestock, and More

Of all the different economic activities at the Hagenbuch Homestead, agriculture was the most important and this only increased with time. After acquiring the homestead property in 1741, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715, d. 1785)...

Mock Shotgun Wedding Hidlay Church PA 1948 Detail 0

Mock Shotgun Weddings

As my father wrote about last week, we recently received a collection of photographs from the Harris family. The Harrises intermarried with the Hagenbuchs and the two families attended Hidlay Lutheran Church in Columbia...