This Week's Article From the Beech Grove

Horse and Rider detail painting Bryant White 0

The Book, Part 2

Below is the continuation of a short story in the historical fiction genre regarding the book Wahres Christentum (True Christianity), which Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) willed to his youngest son, John (b. 1763). Read Part 1...

Wahres Christentum Book Engravings Detail 0

The Book, Part 1

I expect most people don’t regularly read what I term as pure history. However, many people read historical fiction where the plot, the setting, and the characters are located in the past; but the...

Joe Robb, Mark Hagenbuch Detail 0

Preserving Family Treasures

On a snowy Saturday at the end of 2017, my father, Mark Hagenbuch, and I traveled to visit his cousin, Joe Robb. As first cousins, my father and Joe share grandparents–Clarence Hagenbuch (b. 1889,...

Ernest and Hannah Hagenbuch, 1943 1

The Five Families

Two weeks ago while searching Findagrave.com for information pertaining to my latest article, I came across a Christian Hagenbuch born in Germany in 1818 who is buried in Kansas. Amazed at this newly discovered...

Gravestone of Mark and Mary Hagenbuch 0

Mark, Mark, and Mark

Most of us find it curious when we run across someone who has the same name that we have, especially if our last name is Hagenbuch and our first name isn’t commonly used. I...

Bessie (Robbins) Sechler Remedy Detail 2

Home Remedies

Recently my father, Mark Hagenbuch, handed me a recipe book once owned by Bessie Mae (Robbins) Sechler (b. 1888, d. 1973). It was previously in the possession of Harold Sechler (b. 1923), who is...

Cromis and Sechler Family Members, 1936 5

New Year’s “Back in the Day”

New Year’s Day is celebrated in many ways. In our family on the Montour County farm, it was a day of traditional foods: pork and sauerkraut accompanied by fresh baked bread smothered in butter...