My name is Susan Fassbender, and I began my journey into the historical past of Outagamie County in 1998 as I put together a Christmas present for my father-in-law. With his encouragement and questions, I began to research his grandfather, Peter Joseph Hubert Fassbender. A librarian at heart, as I began working as a Children’s Library Room Page at the age of 15, I started not with looking for dates, but scanning the stacks in the Appleton Public Library’s Local History section. I quickly hit pay dirt (beginner’s luck I assure you) in locating autobiographical material in The History of Outagamie County [page 766. For some reason he was not indexed in this database] and also in The Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley. So I was off and running, putting together the wonderful story of emigration and cheese making. I am now in the third revision of my book which I have entitled A Snapshot: Peter Joseph Hubert Fassbender, His Ancestors and Descendants. My passion for this family has not diminished over these many years.
In 2012 I started a blog in memory of my mother and father-in-law. They had a profound impact on their four sons and nine grandchildren. So to honor and preserve their memory I created “The Aroma of Bread.” Begun on the Blogger platform, I have since moved some of the posts to this site, they are tagged as “Aroma of Bread.”
You will also find tucked into this website my research on my Cook line, specifically looking at Samuel Andrew Cook. It seems that everyone has a Cook favorite, and S.A. was my father’s. So in his honor, I am continuing and expanding on his research.
Families in my database:
Blood, Campbell, Cook, DuCate, Fassbender, Goerling, Klöfkorn, Nettekovon, Normann, Ruffing, Schultz, Sternitzky, Tapper, Wilson
Recent and/or Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
I started speaking to local genealogy groups in 2012, and I can occasionally be found speaking at conferences and meetings, teaching and speaking about topics that I am passionate about. I would love to speak for your society, or genealogy group, contact me for a full list of topics.
NOTE: As you can see it has been a while since I last gave a talk. In 2019 I moved across the country to Rhode Island where life took a turn, and I had the opportunity to have my dream job: a school librarian. The bonus is that I discovered that I love substitute teaching, and many weeks found me in a classroom sharing, teaching and learning along with the PreK 3-Grade 8 students of St. Margaret’s School in Rumford. In August 2026 we made the move back to Wisconsin, where I am currently residing in Milwaukee.
October 2020 – Minnesota Northstar Virtual Conference, October 8-10, 2020. Featured speaker: Judy G. Russell and David McDonald. I presented: Using Maps in Genealogy – Another Layer to the Story. If the conference had not been virtual, I would also have given the talk: The History of a Block: How Your House Fits into the Family Block.
3 November 2018 – Appleton Public Library: Using Maps in Genealogy – Another Layer to the Story.
April 2019 – Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Gene-A-Rama, April 29-30, 2019. Featured speaker: Amy Johnson Crow. I presented: Using the Power of the Google Toolbox to Further Your Genealogy Research.
April 2018 – Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Gene-A-Rama, April 13-14, 2018. Featured speaker: Tony Burroughs, FUGA. I presented: Every House Has a History: The Genealogy of Your House.