Nine Years On
Each year, when I sit down to write a retrospective on the previous 12 months of Hagenbuch.org, I find myself surprised by the number of fascinating pieces that have been published. Occasionally, I have...
Author: Andrew Hagenbuch
An Alarming History: Children and the Dangers of Fire
“Don’t play with fire!” What child hasn’t heard this phrase? Growing up, I know I did—especially when staying at the family cabin or on a Boy Scout camping trip. Back then, I didn’t really...
Deitschy Humor: Professor Herman F. Schnitzel
Who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh? I believe most everyone does, and in this way the Pennsylvania Dutch (also known as the Pennsylvania Deitsch) are no exception. They even have humorists whom they call...
When the Wolf Sisters Met the Hagenbuch Brothers
In his 1886 family history, Descendants of Andrew Hagenbuch, Enoch Hagenbuch (b. 1814) wrote the following: [Jacob Hagenbuch] married Magdalena Wolf, a sister of his brother Henry’s wife. Jacob’s wife was born April 29,...
Family Connections: The Siegfrieds and the Hagenbuchs
The story of our family includes more than just Hagenbuchs. When a couple marries, a new family is connected to ours. Close friends, baptism sponsors, and business partners form other types of alliances too....
John Hagenbuch (b. 1776) and Lehighton’s First Tavern
Take a quick look at the family tree of Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715), and you will see many John Hagenbuchs. My father, Mark, and I have been diligently working to untangle them and their...
Saving Recipes: Harold Sechler and the Chef Boyardee Story
Harold F. Sechler (b. 1923, d. 2018), my first cousin twice removed, saved recipes. He cut them from newspapers, wrote them on scraps of paper, and held onto promotional recipe booklets. His collection of...
Preserving Memories in a Digital Age
Is it possible to save memories using digital media so they exist for future generations? My father, Mark, and I continue to grapple with this question, as we seek to archive centuries of Hagenbuch...
What’s in a Bible?
What’s in a Bible? I mean this literally. If you open up a Bible, what might you find inside? In June my father, Mark, and I were going through several boxes of family ephemera....
Returning to the Hagenbuch Homestead and Cemetery
It’s been awhile since my father and I have visited the Hagenbuch Homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The last time we were there was on a cold, winter’s day in January of...
