Searching for Robert, Walter, Righter, and Agnes

As Andrew and I continue to write articles about our Hagenbuch family, we find Hagenbuchs who never appeared on the radar during the first 50 years of my research. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe in those years that I would be finding so many Hagenbuchs hidden away, their stories forgotten. Once Andrew came on board 10 years ago, the number of those “hiding Hagenbuchs” exploded, and this article demonstrates that finding them will continue.

Last August in 2023, I wrote an article about the family of Isaiah Bomboy Hagenbuch (b. 1836, d. 1912). I had little info on Isaiah up to that point, and it made for interesting research, especially since he and his family were from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, essentially right in my backyard. I ended the article with listing some information about his son, Bion William Hagenbuch (b. 1860, d. 1928)—who sometimes is listed as William Bion—and his children: Robert Bruce, Walter Mason, Bion Righter, and Agnes Belle. As I’ve done for other articles, when I came to the end of the article, I wrote that these children’s history has never been researched and this must be done. However, I did nothing about it; not until Andrew received a message from Jacob Robison from York, Pennsylvania.

The descendants of Bion William Hagenbuch (b. 1860) from Beechroots.com

Jacob ran across our Hagenbuch articles, etc. when he was researching his family. He had a mystery to solve and this is what he wrote to us:

My great-grandfather was apparently born fatherless. His birth certificate only gives his mother’s name and he (at the time of his birth) was given his mother’s maiden name. His mother married two years later, and my great-grandfather was given his (apparently step-) father’s last name: Robison. Through my DNA matches on Ancestry.com, I discovered that it is likely that his biological father was a son of William Bion Hagenbuch. Out of his three sons, I think Bion Righter Hagenbuch is likely the man in question. I’m assuming this because he was the same age and would have gone to the same high school as my great-grandfather’s mother. My great-grandfather would have been conceived some time around the November following their last year of high school. Shortly thereafter Bion (Righter) moved away to work in the auto industry in Detroit and married another woman, although it seems they never had any children together. I assume the mother didn’t know she was pregnant until Bion had already moved away. As a result, I believe Bion never knew he had a son.

Jacob is doing extensive research to positively connect his Robison line to our Hagenbuchs and in doing so, it reminded me to continue the research on these children of Bion William Hagenbuch. Jacob’s story also reminds us, as genealogists, that it can be fairly commonplace that children are born out of wedlock and their biological family line is lost.

Bion William married Janette “Nettie” Mason in 1880. In 1900, the census lists him as a “moulder” which means he made molds for metal parts. He and Nettie were living in Bloomsburg with their four children. In the 1910 census and on his death certificate of 1928 he is listed as a postman. He and Nettie are buried at the Old Rosemont Cemetery in Bloomsburg, PA.

Three of Bion and Nettie’s children are easily traced through census and grave records: Robert, Walter, and Agnes. However, Righter is our mystery man, as Jacob Robison suggests. Because of this, Righter will be discussed last.

Article about the death of Robert Bruce Hagenbuch from The Daily Item, May 8, 1939

Robert Bruce Hagenbuch was born March 17, 1881 in Bloomsburg. (Tongue in cheek: I wonder if his parents got Scottish and Irish history mixed up as he has a Scottish hero’s name, but he was born on St. Patrick’s day!) He married Lydia Nicewinter and they had no children. In 1920, they were living in Bloomsburg and Robert worked in a silk mill. Sometime in the next few years Lydia sued for divorce against Robert for “cruel and barbarous treatment”. He died on May 5, 1939 after falling and fracturing his skull while painting a high tension tower for Pennsylvania Power & Light. He was living in Plainfield, Cumberland County, PA at the time.

Robert is buried at the Old Rosemont Cemetery in Bloomsburg. Unfortunately, the death certificate for Lydia lists her death in Philadephia in 1927 due to syphilis. She is buried at the Creveling Cemetery in Almedia, PA where her parents are buried. We can only surmise the sad life that Robert and Lydia may have led due to emotional problems and her disease.

Walter Mason Hagenbuch was born June 23, 1888 in Bloomsburg. His middle name was his mother’s maiden name. He married Bertha May Hower sometime around 1915, and they had one child, Bettie, who was born in 1917. In 1920 Walter, Bertha, and Bettie were living in Jefferson, PA and Walter worked as a foreman in a “chemical works.” The family was joined in 1923 by a daughter, Jane. Sadly, in February, 1929 Bertha died of cervical cancer and is buried at the New Rosemont Cemetery in Espy, PA. In 1930, Walter, Bettie, and Jane were living in Philadelphia where Walter worked as a clerk in a brick factory.

Article about the death of Walter “Red” Hagenbuch from the Harrisburg Telegraph, October 11, 1938

Walter was well known in the Bloomsburg area as a football referee and went by the nickname “Red”. He died of a heart attack in 1938 while officiating a game at Mt. Carmel, PA. A large write up about his success as a semi-pro football player and as a popular football referee appeared in the local newspaper after his death. He is buried at New Rosemont Cemetery with Bertha.

Daughter Bettie married Frank Deitrich in about 1940. She died in 2000 and is also buried at New Rosemont in Espy along with Frank. Frank served in World War II in the Navy on a destroyer in the Philippines. They had one son, Richard, who was born in 1948. According to information from Jacob Robison, Richard married Patricia Sue Derr. They may still be living—possibly in the Bloomsburg area.

By 1940, Walter and Bertha’s youngest daughter, Jane (b. 1923), was living with her aunt and uncle, Lee and Agnes (Hagenbuch) Diehl in Cheltenham, Montgomery County, PA. A group photo of her in 1938 was found when she attended Bloomsburg Area High School. According to Jacob Robison, she married Salvatore Riano, lived in Schenectady County, New York, and is deceased.

Agnes, the daughter of Bion William and Nettie (Mason) Hagenbuch was born in Bloomsburg on November 18, 1895. She married Lee Diehl and lived in Montgomery County, PA where he worked as an accountant for several companies. Agnes died in 1972, Lee in 1979, and they are buried at New Rosemont Cemetery, Espy, PA.

Gravestone of Agnes (Hagenbuch) Diehl. Credit: Findagrave.com/Jessica Chyko

This finally brings us to the youngest son of Bion and Nettie: our “mystery man” Bion Righter Hagenbuch who was born November 3, 1890 in Bloomsburg. According to a news clipping, he was very sick of typhoid in 1907; and another news clipping from 1919 states that he was coming home after serving in the 3rd Division. The Army 3rd Infantry Division was a crack unit of Americans that served in World War I, in some of the heaviest fighting at the Marne on the Western Front. Toward the end of the war, they were transferred to the Eastern Front in Russia.

Righter married Viola Dibble in 1917 in Niagara, NY. He was drafted soon after and must have then begun serving in the 3rd Division. It’s assumed he served overseas as previously mentioned in the information about the 3rd Division. In the article about his service, he was assigned to headquarters; and, the phrase “coming home” as reported in the Bloomsburg Morning Press must mean to the States, not necessarily to Bloomsburg. There is no information for him in the 1920 census to discern where he and Viola were living at that time, but it’s assumed they were in Detroit, Michigan. The census does list them as living in Detroit in 1930, 1940, and 1950. Righter was working in the auto manufacturing industry. Note that in researching, folks often appear with other names as Righter does in the 1940 census, where he was recorded as “Bion Hagenbaugh.”

Righter died on May 9, 1957 and Viola in 1969. Their graves cannot be found. No children are listed for them in any of the censuses. We may never know if Bion Righter Hagenbuch is the great great grandfather of Jacob Robison. But, it’s contacts like these that keep Andrew and I searching for more information about our ancestors. An update will be provided as we and Jacob continue the search.