Tagged: flax

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....

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)...

Linen Processing Hinks 1783 Detail 6

Homestead Economics: Flax, Linen, and Other Fibers

In 18th-century America, before cotton was king, flax was the fiber that ruled the fields. Used to weave linen fabric, people depended upon quality flax for a number of textile products—shirts, tablecloths, breeches, sheets,...

Man With Book Painting Detail 1

Painting Portraits of Our Family, Part 2

The primary career of women, like Andreas’ wives, in colonial America was housewife or Hausfrau (that is, running the household) and raising the children. However, Andreas’ daughters and possibly a granddaughter were also likely...

Michael Hagenbuch 1855 Inventory Detail 0

Inventory of Michael Hagenbuch’s Estate

Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1805, d. 1855) was the last family owner of the Hagenbuch homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He had acquired the property from his father, Jacob Hagenbuch (b. 1777, d....

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Thoughts on Jacob Hagenbuch’s Estate Inventory

Jacob Hagenbuch died in 1842 at the Hagenbuch homestead in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He left no will, forcing a local judge to order that his entire estate be inventoried. The contents of...

Jacob Hagenbuch Inventory 1842 0

Inventory of Jacob Hagenbuch’s Estate

Jacob Hagenbuch died in 1842 in Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1777 and inherited the family homestead from his father, Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1746, d. 1809), who had received the...

Cow Calves Landis Valley 0

Thoughts on Michael Hagenbuch’s Inventory

It’s doubtful Michael Hagenbuch (b. 1746, d. 1809) could ever have imagined how much his descendants 200 years in the future would appreciate him neglecting to make a will. Nevertheless, it is as a...