Family Events of the 1700s with Historical Context
We can learn a lot from history—and if you’re reading this site, then I suspect that you already agree with this statement. Yet, sometimes a single family event from the past provides only a...
Tagged: Maria Magdalena (Schmutz) Hagenbuch
The House Along the Allemaengel Road, Part 1
On March 25, 1738, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715) received a warrant for 200 acres of land in a corner of what is today Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. This place was the at edge...
Our Family’s First Christmas Gift in America
The further we go back in time, the more difficult it is to tell the story of our Hagenbuch family. Precious little information remains from early 1700s when our ancestor, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715),...
Homestead Economics: Introduction
How did Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715, d. 1785), his immediate family, and his descendants make a living in the 18th and early 19th centuries? Today, we develop skills, find jobs, and build careers in...
Henry Hagenbuch’s Revised Birth and Death: The Evidence
Genealogy is like a giant jigsaw puzzle—one where key pieces are missing and a clear picture of what is being assembled is unknown. This article, the first in a two-part series, will examine a...
Württemberg Geography
As we continue to explore the early history of our German ancestors, we have tried to wrap our minds around the geography of the region they lived in during the 17th and 18th centuries....
What Caspar Wistar’s Story Tells Us About Our Own
Today we know substantially more about our common ancestor, Andreas Hagenbuch (b. 1715, d. 1785), than was understood even a decade ago. Below are a few articles that capture some of this knowledge. Yet,...
Painting Portraits of Our Family, Part 1
An often heard quote states: “Find a job you enjoy doing and you won’t have to work a day in your life.” Most people’s first jobs are out of necessity and aren’t what they...
Meet the “Charming” Captain
A ship at sea is its own world. To be the captain of a ship is to be the unquestioned ruler of that world and requires all of the leadership skills of a prince...
Andreas Hagenbuch’s “Charming” Shipmates
Andreas and his wife Magdalena left Plymouth, England aboard the ship, Charming Nancy, on July 17, 1737. We are not sure how long it took them to arrive in Plymouth from their home north...
