Tagged: spinning wheel

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...

Early 19th Century Kitchen Detail 0

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...