Category: History

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)...

Harrises Hidlay 1939 1

The Harrises of Hidlay: Part 2

It’s sometimes difficult for me to remember how I got started on some of my genealogical work from decades ago. I know that I did very little work on other branches of the family...

Frank Harris Family 1930 Detail 1

The Harrises of Hidlay: Part 1

On February 10, 2015, I wrote an article about my great great grandfather’s brother and his family. Samuel Hagenbuch was born in 1806 and lived on what became a six generation family farm in...