This glimpse of the past lives of our ancestors is dedicated to Josef’s grandson Joe "Butch" and wife Luella, who own and live on Doraville homestead now known as Hackenberg Tree Farm. Joe and Luella are shown in a photo taken in 2005 in South Dakota.
. . . and in loving memory of Joe Jr. and Wilma Hackenberg.
“We clasp the hands of those that go before us, And the hands of those who come after us.” ~ Wendell Berry
INTRODUCTION: This little history shall give any future generations of this family Hackenberg knowledge of their ancestors, describing their character, birthplace, life and prominent movements with dates of year and months as far as possible. Many people of the United States know nothing about their parents, about ½ know nothing about their grandparents and hardly 1/10 know anything about their great-grandparents, because people move and mix more (more divorces) in the U.S. than in the well settled and stable countries of Europe. It will be divided as follows: 1) The history of the Hackenbergs in Europe, 2) The history of the Winchesters and, 3) The history of the Hackenbergs in Amerika. The present family Hackenberg in Oregon near Rainier has been founded by the marriage of Josef Hackenberg and Mrs. Dora Wells (Winchester) on the 3 of June 1891 in Rainier. It will certainly be interesting for our posterity to look back several centuries of family life in different generations, different conditions and countries. Hoping my few lines may satisfy I am one of your Dadies.
Josef Rudolf Hackenberg
South Beaver, March 8, 1896
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As we ponder our rapidly changing computerized world in the 21st century it is hard to visualize pioneer life at “South Beaver” over a hundred years ago when 36-year-old Josef Hackenberg sat at his desk, reached for his Ivy Leaf stationery, and with a firm hand wrote the “little history” of his European roots, and a brief sheet on the Winchesters. There is no evidence that he wrote a section on the Hackenbergs in America; however, it is known that his brother William lived in Wheeling,West Virginia.
The accomplishments of Josef’s generation of hardy pioneers, both men and women, are now mostly forgotten, their deeds and names lost in time. Through Josef’s journals, family letters, and newspaper articles we have a historical glimpse into a homesteader’s life in rural Oregon written by Josef himself. Nothing is said of the contributions of pioneer women like Josef’s wife Dora who had to manage pregnancy and birth with little or no medical attention; i.e., Josef’s journal entry the day of Joe Jr’s birth “May 31, 1902: Hoed potatoes, 3:20 p.m. Joseph born”. At times Dora and the children would be left isolated in the country when Josef was off for extended periods working in the logging camps,
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