There were many in my family who were entrepreneurs. They started businesses and provided services and goods at such a rapid rate, that it sometimes makes it hard to keep track of it all. My solution? Make good use of the powerful tool of a Legacy Family Tree database.
Last week a cousin and I got together and were talking about a company started by one of our common ancestors, the Alexandria Paper Company. She had recently visited Alexandria, Madison Co., Indiana, and discovered that the information that they had regarding the company had been donated years ago by my mother. Wanting to know more about the company, I set out to see what I could find.
The first step was to create a new “Unlinked Male” in my database, and I was off and running. Companies, like people, leave a paper trail, and like all research I will need to head to Madison County, Indiana for full details on the history of the company, but for now, I have found enough information to satisfy my curiosity. Enough to write up what I have learned in a blog post.
The question might be asked, as to why I do not include this information with the founding ancestor? My answer is, when the ancestor could be labeled a business mogul, it makes his individual entry too large and cumbersome. The personal details get lost in details of his business dealings. By creating an “Unlinked Male” I can easily find and add detail to just the one company, or business dealing.
My husband’s family has been involved in the cheese industry here in Wisconsin since 1887, the first factory started by the patriarch Peter Fassbender, two of his sons continued the tradition. To keep them all in check, and to easily track the information about each factory, I have created a similar database to the above, only having the original factory named as the patriarch, and all others as children. Like any good family, these factories supported each other, working together so that each was a success. Their stories are entwined, and each factory story is needed to create timeline that shows the effect that these men had, and have, on the cheese manufacturing industry here in our state.
It’s all about being able to tell the story – and to find the facts I need quickly and efficiently.
Some might say that this post is a day late, but I believe it is right on time. Yesterday my in-laws, Bernard (Butch) and Marie (Campbell) Fassbender would have celebrated 70 years of marriage. I had the privilege to help them to celebrate, party-style, their 40th and their 50th, plus many more quiet celebrations in between.
Why is this post right on time? Because tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate 29 years of marriage. And today is Mother’s Day. Many years we honored these events on one day or another. One particular anniversary stands out, and it just happens that it was our first, and B & M’s 42nd. We got all dressed up – as you did in those days – and we celebrated our anniversaries together with reservations at Remington’s in Neenah. I remember how relaxed we all were, how the conversation flowed, and how we all enjoyed the added “floor show” of young people all dressed up for prom, and a few giggles at their expense, as some were experiencing fine dining for the very first time.
Many years though, this day in between, was spent celebrating Mom. Mother’s Day.
Marie raised four boys, tragically lost one, and was the grandmother to nine. Her house was a revolving door for her grandchildren and their friends. The draw? A full sized pool table in the basement, and fresh baked cookies in the kitchen to grab as you headed downstairs. Not a cookie baking day? No problem. Everyone knew where the candy drawer was located. Or her hidden stash in the broom closet.
Butch and Marie set the bar high when it comes to setting an example of a good marriage. As their granddaughter posted on Facebook yesterday: “…Their marriage was filled with love, faith, joy, and strength. A beautiful model of what it means to spend life with another regardless of what the journey brings.”
They started their journey together seventy years ago, we started this same journey of life together 29 years ago. I can only hope that in 2057 (!!) we will be remembered as fondly, and our lives remembered as having made as big a difference.
It was an exciting and optimistic day 115 years ago, April 16, 1901, when Hubert Fassbender, Anna Schwamer, Peter Ellenbecker, Elizabeth Fassbender, family and friends, gathered at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Appleton, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin, to witness the marriages of the two couples. The newspaper marked the event as a “double marriage,” but the vital records tell us that they each had their own set of attendants. As with all newly married couples, I am sure they looked towards their future as being bright, happy, and long-lived. From my perspective 115 years later, I am glad they could enjoy the day, and not worry about the years ahead.
April 16, 1901. Appleton, Wisconsin. L-R: Maggie Ellenbecker, Peter Ellenbecker, Henry Fassbender, Elizabeth Fassbender, John Ellenbecker, Anna Fassbender. Arthur Ellenbecker Family Archives.
While Hubert and Anna’s lives were peppered with success and also great sadness, this post is about Peter and Elizabeth. Peter Ellenbecker and Elizabeth Fassbender chose as their attendants, Peter’s brother and sister; Maggie and John Ellenbecker, and Elizabeth’s sister Anna, and brother Henry.
Shortly after their wedding day, the couple settled into the Town of Bovina, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin, farming the land that Peter had purchased in November 1899. The homestead sat on 36.40 acres of land, with an additional 80 acres ready for cultivation.
On February 5, 1902, Peter and Elizabeth welcomed a healthy baby boy into their family, naming him Wilbert. Life was good. As the growing season was coming to an end in 1902, tragedy struck this small family. On October 15, 1902, Peter’s appendix burst, and he died eight days later on October 24th. [1]
I wonder how Elizabeth sent the news to her family? Or were her mother and father already there to help her during those long days and nights of Peter’s illness?
St. Mary’s Greenville Cemetery
Elizabeth’s father, Peter, helped to arrange and pay for the funeral, which was held on October 27th. The receipts entered for probate do not give a clue as to where the funeral was held, but I do know that he is buried in the cemetery at St. Mary’s in Greenville, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin. The receipt states that Peter paid $3.00 for the service of the pastor (neither church nor pastor were named), Heid & Groth, Dr. Livery and Boarding Stable provided the Hack and Hearse, which was $16.00, and the casket and box was purchased from Frank Schreiter, Furniture and Undertaking. Baby Carriages &c for $34.25. Miscellaneous other expenses brought the total for the funeral to $92.05.
The couple had only been married for a year and a half before Peter so tragically passed away, leaving her with a nine month old, and another baby on the way, as Arthur would be born January 10/11, 1903. Peter died intestate with a mortgage remaining on the property he purchased, debts to various merchants, and a small amount of personal estate.
Why is this story important for me to noodle through? Because it plays a very large role in the “Appleton” chapter of my revision for the Fassbender book. The Fassbender siblings were married April 16, 1901, Peter purchased the house on State Street the next day, April 17th. At age 63 he had plans to retire and “take life easy,” allowing time to become involved in his church, play cards with friends, and not be tied to the tasks of running a large farm, and cheese factories. Upon the death of his son-in-law, all of this would change.
Peter Fassbender, 1905 ca
While this is just speculation, I can feel fairly confident to say that Peter and Elizabeth packed up their daughter and grandson, and moved them into the house on State Street. Almost immediately they appeared in the county court in Appleton to start the probate process. By the first of November, the personal estate of the household in Bovina had been inventoried, totaling $246.35, with Elizabeth having the right to choose certain household goods to keep, such as beds, kitchen table etc. On November 5, 1902, Elizabeth appeared before the judge to request that her father be appointed administrator to the estate, and the next day the estate was entered into probate. The estate would not be closed for nine long years, during which time Peter and Elizabeth were in and out of court. To help me better understand the sequence of events, I needed to create a timeline spreadsheet using the 111 pages included in the probate file as the source.
It is heartbreaking to read the transcription of Elizabeth’s testimony on December 9, 1902, declaring that her husband had died at home intestate, leaving her with a nine month old, and $1,000 mortgage. She was again in court on January 16, 1903, stating that her husband was the father of a son born January 11, 1903, and asking for the money that had been received from the sale of the personal estate to be used for the “maintenance” of the family during the progress of the settlement. She begrudgingly received a single payment of $75.00, as total claims against the estate amounted to $1,075.23.
Through all of this time her family was there to help her out, both financially, and I am sure emotionally. Her brother Hubert paid the interest on her mortgage in 1910, and payment for one-year loans made by family members to Peter Ellenbecker in 1901, were put on hold for nine years. Throughout this time she continued to reside with her sons in her parents home, assisting her sister Anna in her dressmaking business.
What is puzzling to me, is that the land was not sold through this long period of probate. If other property could be sold to pay off the debt, why not the land? Peter as administrator continued to pay the property taxes each year, some of the land was leased out, but the estate was closed December 12, 1911 showing a deficit of $1,258.23.
There are 111 pages included in this probate file. The story that this file tells is a chapter of its own. Fascinating to see the farm inventory, and the inventory of animals they were raising. Great detail, but too much detail to continue to move the book chapter forward. Seeing the detail on spreadsheet helps pinpoint the major events over the nine years. Hopefully I can relay the tragedy, but not drown the reader in too much detail.
Elizabeth would marry again on September 23, 1913, to Peter C. Tatro Jr. She would have two children with Peter, Ann born in 1915, and Henry born in 1916. They lived together in a home on South Elm Street, not far from her parents home. The reason this is important? Her son Arthur, who was born in the house on State Street, was eleven years old when she remarried, and he was given the opportunity to choose to move with her to Elm Street, or remain with his grandparents on State. Arthur chose to remain with his grandparents, and he lived with them till they passed away, and he continued to live and own the house till his own death in 2003.
It takes a family. My husband likes the quote: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Peter and Elizabeth planned on retiring to Appleton, having sold the farm to their son Joseph, the cheese factories to their son Hubert, John and Anna were already living and working in Appleton, and Henry was working as a cheesemaker in Little Chute. The family was settled, it was time to “take it easy.” But God had other plans.
SOURCES:
Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2015. Original data: Wisconsin County, District and Probate Courts. Peter Ellenbecker; accessed 16 Apr 2016.
This past Friday and Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to network with other genealogists, and learn from Judy G. Russell (!) at the Wisconsin Genealogical Society’s Gene-A-Rama. This year the Gene-A-Rama was held in Wausau, Marathon Co., Wisconsin, the birthplace of my father, Robert Sternitzky. I knew that I would have no time to do any research, but I did think I would have time to search out the church that my father and his family attended while living in Wausau. Thinking this would be an easy process, I asked my mom if she knew what church they were attending when dad was baptized. Not finding his baptismal certificate, she did find his Solemn Holy Communion card, dated May 14, 1944, and from St. James Catholic Church. BINGO! A quick Google search showed that St. James church no longer existed in Wausau. What happened to it?
It took a bit of digging, and a lot of disappointment in the lack of information available on the parish website, and also the diocesan website, but I figured it out. They had simply changed the name of the parish. Now in the world of consolidation of parishes, I am used to seeing parishes being re-named. An example is St. Katherine Drexel in Kaukauna, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin. St. Katherine Drexel is the consolidation of three parishes, but they still retain their individual identity by being called: St. Katherine Drexel, St. Mary Site; St. Katherine Drexel, St. Al Site; and St. Katherine Drexel, St. Francis Site, which is the parish located in Hollandtown, Brown Co., Wisconsin. In Wausau, the Eastside Parishes consist of St. Michael Parish, and Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ (formerly known as St. James).
While I have not yet determined when and why the parish was re-named, I have learned that the present building was constructed in 1911-12, as the congregation had outgrown its present building. St. James had been organized in 1905 as the first English speaking Catholic parish in Wausau.
Checking the Mass schedule, I was disappointed to learn that it was a 6:00 p.m. Saturday Mass, while St. Michael’s had the 4:00 p.m. Knowing that churches are usually open 45 minutes to an hour before mass time, I made the decision to attend St. Michael’s for Mass, and then head over to Resurrection, hoping to get in. I had no problems navigating to the address: 621 North 2nd Street, and getting out of the car, I shot a couple of photos of the exterior:
Testing the door, I found it unlocked, and so went in. The lights were still dimmed, and there was a woman praying near the front of the church, who I did not want to disturb. I quickly snapped a few shots, knelt and said a few prayers, and vowed to return at a time closer to Mass time so I could have better light. But until that point in time, I did find this website discussing the restoration of the interior of the church by Conrad Schmitt, and this flickr album showing the windows.
Directly across the street from the front entrance of the church, is the school. Dad would tell the story of how he would take the bus to school, and after school, or at lunch time, would head over to visit his Grandma Sternitzky (Christine Goerling Sternitzky) at her house on Steuben Street.
The Baptismal Font is still there, and appears to be original. Now I just need to be able to get close to it for a good photograph. Another item to add to the growing to-do list. Photo of the Baptismal Font in the Church of the Resurrection aka, St. James. NOTE: This is NOT the original baptismal font, please see comments below.
An Addition: Laziness set in yesterday, and so I didn’t go in search of my great-aunt and uncle’s address in Wausau, even though I knew my father would visit with them also; sometimes for a quick lunch during the school year. And it should be shame on me, as I never knew my great-grandparents, Robert R., and Christine Sternitzky, I did know my grandmother’s older brother, Great-Uncle Russell Cook, and his wife Hattie (Dietzler). Aunt Hattie even attended my wedding! Here is the route dad might have taken to their home from school, and then back down to the Sternitzkys:
Yesterday was National Grilled Cheese Day – who thinks of these things? So I am bit behind with a cheese story, it’s a big one! And the Fassbender family was involved.
Quoted from A Snapshot: Peter Joseph Hubert Fassbender[1] “…in 1911, plans were well under way for Nicholas Simon of Appleton to attempt to beat his own record for creating a giant cheese. In 1910 he had built a 4,000 pound cheese for the National Dairy Show in Chicago. For the 1911 National Dairy Show, to be held October 26-November 4, he was awarded the contract by the National Dairy Show Association to build a 12,000 lb. Wisconsin white cheese [cheddar]. The cheese was not to be made as a money-making proposition, but for educational purposes. On July 26, 1911, preliminary work began on the construction of the hoop and platform to hold the cheese. The giant hoop of galvanized iron was eight feet in diameter, and five feet high. ‘Twelve heavy steel bands, 24 feet long, were placed around the hoop to make it withstand the enormous pressure obtained by the immense jack-screws placed on the ends, or “followers,” and pressing agains the frame. Four heavy oak timbers below the hoop and as many above, bound together by twenty heavy steel bolts five feet long, formed the frame that was built upon the lines of the old style upright screw press. The “followers” or ends, were four thicknesses of two-inch oak boards, or eight inches thick. The hoop alone weighed 3,000 pounds.” [2]
Both Hubert [Fassbender] and Henry [Fassbender] played a role in creating this cheese, which occurred on Tuesday, August 15, 1911. Henry was one of the 18 expert cheesemakers, who with the assistance of 22 experienced helpers manufactured the cheese, and Hubert is credited with being one of the dairies supplying the milk. ‘…All the milk from over 8,000 cows for one day, and furnished by over 1,300 farmers of Outagamie county, went into the giant cheese. The curd was furnished by thirty-two of the most up-to-date and sanitary cheese factories…it took over 1,600 meant to do the milking, and 144,100 pounds of milk, over seventy-two tons or over 18,000 gallons of the richest and purest milk obtainable from the finest registered Holstein, Guernsey and other breed cows in the country, was put into the cheese or was required to produce the curd.’ ‘In addition…it took over 480 pounds of Wyandotte salt and thirty-one pounds of Marschall rennet extract to produce the curd, but not an ounce of coloring was placed in the cheese.’ [3] The 8,000 cows all ‘had to be milked at the same hour. The milk had to be cooled at the same temperature, and the…factories which manufactured the curd had to follow the same process to make the curd uniform.’ [4]
On October 30, 1911, President William Howard Taft attended the National Dairy Show where he gave a ‘pleasant speech’ and toured the exhibits. Upon reaching the ‘immense cheese which [was] a feature of the show he was given a huge knife and invited to have a slice. He accepted laughingly, cut off a sample of the cheese and at it with relish.’ [5] After tasting the cheese he said ‘I would like to meet the man who made it.’ Upon being introduced to Nicholas Simon, he complimented him by saying he had never tasted better cream cheese. The giant cheese which cost an estimated $5,0000-$6,000 to produce, was sold to the Fair Store in Chicago, where it was sold at retail, Nicholas Simon receiving thirty cents per pound, or $3,7089.10. [6] Ten pounds of the cheese was shipped to President Taft, arriving in time for Thanksgiving dinner, a gift from Nicholas Simon.” [7]
The Largest Cheese in the World! It is Eight Feet in Diameter and Weighs Over Five Tons. Henry Fassbender is the second man from the left. Location is unknown, possibly 741 Pacific Street.
The November 1911 issue of Popular Mechanics, p. 650-651, had this to say about the cheese:
“No building in Appleton was large enough for the manufacture and care of the cheese and it was made in the open air. The hoop was placed on a platform in front of six big vats, 15 feet long, 4 1/2 feet wide and 22 1/2 feet deep, in which the curd was washed and mixed.
Under the supervision of the State Dairy and Food Commissioner, 2 3/4 pounds of salt were used to each 100 pounds of curd, and when the salt was thoroughly mixed with the curd it was carried in pails to the form or hoop, where it was packed with heavy iron tampers, which were wrapped with [40 yards of] cheesecloth.
It took five hours to manufacture the cheese after the curd was delivered, and so solidly had it been packed that it pressed down but a few inches under the enormous pressure. Two days later the cheese was trimmed, the bandage of heavy cotton cheese cloth, which fitted the form like a glove was carried over the top and the gigantic cheese was moved into a warehouse by a house mover…it was impossible to find a cold-storage plant…in which it could be stored to ‘cure,’ and itwas necessary to build a special refrigerator, 12 by 15 feet, about [the cheese.] A specially equipped flat car was provided to ship it to Chicago.”
This was not the last giant cheese that Nicholas Simon produced, but it is his most famous.
Sources:
Susan C. Fassbender, A Snapshot: Peter Joseph Hubert Fassbender (Appleton, WI: self published, 2007): 26-28.
Popular Mechanics, “Giant Cheese Weighs Over Five Tons,” November 1911, 650-651.
The Kaukauna Times, Kaukauna, Wisconsin, “A Mammoth Cheese. Seventy Tons of Milk Used in Making a 12,000 Pounder.” 18 August 1911.
The Kaukauna Times, ” caption: “The Worlds Largest Cheese,” 20 October 1911, front page.
The Evening Telegram, Elyria, Ohio, “President Visits Dairy Show, Makes a Speech, Cuts Big Cheese, and Afterward Lays Cornerstone of Hamilton Club.” 30 October 1911, 2.
Appleton Evening Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin, “Extra: ‘This Cheese is Great,’ says Taft.” 30 October 1911.
The Kaukauna Times, “Cheese for Dinner.” 1 December 1911.
Or to paraphrase Donkey: Cake! Cake has layers. Everybody likes cake!
Cook Reunion, June 12, 1977
Growing up I really only thought of the Cooks as my paternal grandmother’s family. This meant attending the Cook Family Reunion in the summer, it meant that I was included in the Cook Book, the genealogical story of the family. It was grandma pointing to the Cook monument in Oak Hill Cemetery as we drove past. Funny, I can vividly recall being able to spot the stone from the road, but do not recall ever entering the cemetery to actually look at it. And of course, it meant that we thought it was kind of cool to have the family name on the S. A. Cook Armory in Neenah, Winnebago County. And of course it was the story of the Lady Elgin tragedy and the loss of the matriarch, Jane McGarvy Cook and her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, but the survival of son, Jacob Harrison.
As I grew older, and my father delved into the life of Samuel Andrew Cook, S. A. for short, I realized that the Cook family was more than this. Much more. Layers upon layers of “more.”
As dad studied S. A., I took a look at the Civil War pension papers that my mother had ordered, and received. I became fascinated by S. A.’s older brother, Jacob Harrison. His passionate plea asking for leaves of absence to head back to Stockbridge, Calumet County, to check on his younger brother’s and sister (one of the brothers being my great-great grandfather), made me want to know more about him. This beginning study was chronicled in my 2006 self published snapshot. A Snapshot: Jacob Harrison Cook .
What I have learned since finishing this snapshot, is that the Cooks are pushy people. They jump into my research as I work on other projects. They won’t be ignored. Case in point are the two items that I will lay out below – but need to finish other things before delving back into what this means.
Jacob H. Cook moved to Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin in May 1883. As he had in all of the communities he had lived in previously, he jumped right in and became more than just the newest pharmacist in town. Among other things he served for many years as a Justice of the Peace, his name appearing on many marriage licenses. Maybe this explains the two land “stories” I will share below. I still have to noodle through the legalese and meaning.
Telling the tale in reverse order of discovery, is a piece of land now known as 923 North Richmond Street.
According to the city of Appleton, the house that sits on this lot dates to 1900. The deeds that I am looking at, are dated six years prior to 1900, so I am assuming that they refer to the land only.
On September 15, 1892, Herman and Julia A. Erb, sold a parcel of land located in the 5th Ward to J. H. Cook. This piece of property is known as Lot 13, in Block Two of the Hyde & Harriman Addition, [1] and the property description remains the same today in 2016, and you can see the location of the land on the above Google Map.
What I find fascinating about this purchase, is that the deed for this property is a Quit Claim Deed, and goes on to state: “…he being the assignee of a certain land contract dated Feby 12′ 1886 between Welcome Hyde and Alfred K. Brainerd Jr.” Meaning that Hyde and Brainerd had relinquished their rights to a piece of property, giving all rights to Jacob. The sum of the purchase was $147.00.
Just shy of two years later, on August 3, 1894, Jacob sold the land BACK to a Brainerd, in this case, A. K. Brainerd Sr., for $400.00. “Part of the above consideration is $160 to A. J. Reid on his mortgage, and $100 to Nancy Mason.”[2] So what was this all about?
The next find is even more puzzling, and is really more about the people than the land. This was the first land record that Jacob pushed into my face. As I worked to satisfy my curiosity about the Fassbender property on State Street, which I talked about in the post A Closer Look at the Map, I was scanning the index in the letter “C,” and the phrase “J. H. Cook, guardian” popped out at me. Curious, I opened the volume and looked at the record, which was dated May 1, 1888, I read: “To all to whom these Presents shall Come, I Jacob H. Cook of Appleton in the County of Outagamie State of Wisconsin Guardian of Maria Brown Insane…” [3]
County Asylum for the Insane
Who was this woman, and why would Jacob have been appointed her guardian? I did a quick search, and learned that her husband had been in the Civil War, and was a charter member of the local GAR Post along with Jacob. He passed away from paralysis in the Veteran’s Home in Waupaca, Waupaca County, in 1893. The couple had grown children living here in Appleton at the time, yet in 1888 poor Maria had already been declared insane, and Jacob her guardian. The census confirms that Maria spent the remaining years of her life first in the Appleton Insane Asylum, and later in the Outagamie County Asylum. She passed away in 1904, cause, old age.
Layers. Whether we are talking about onions or cake, there is always another layer, another unexpected facet of the Cook family to learn about and to explore.
Next stop. The Outagamie County Courthouse to see if I can learn more about guardianship for the insane in the late 1880s, and why would Jacob have been an assignee for the property on Richmond Street. But first, sorry Jacob, I have another project to finish.
SOURCES:
“Wisconsin, Outagamie County Records, 1825-1980,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-22094-22094-70?cc=1463639 : accessed 29 March 2016), Land and Property; Deed record, 1890-1893, vol. 72; image 556 of 666; Outagamie County Courthouse, Appleton.
“Wisconsin, Outagamie County Records, 1825-1980,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22094-33742-85?cc=1463639 : accessed 6 April 2016), Land and Property; Deed record, 1894-1895, vol. 86; image 200 of 646; Outagamie County Courthouse, Appleton.
“Wisconsin, Outagamie County Records, 1825-1980,” images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-22094-8461-98?cc=1463639 : accessed 6 April 2016), Land and Property; Deed record, 1882-1913, vol. 59; image 34 of 485; Outagamie County Courthouse, Appleton.
