The Hyphen Family Lineage

Note: Researching George and Emma (Laxton) Rudkin's ancestry

A large portion of my initial information on George Rudkin (and his wife Emma) came from an article from the Sparta Herald (10 Apr 1930), noting their golden wedding anniversary and giving a small description of their history together - that they married in Pinchbeck, in Lincolnshire Cty in East of England, and immigrated to America in 1883 to live six years in Chicago before moving to Monroe Cty, Wisconsin to farm for the remainder of their years.

Searching for the couples' records from prior to their arrival in America has proved a bit more challenging; I had initially found partial ancestry trees from some public searches online, which no doubt included various unsourced and unverified trees on sites like Ancestry and similar. George's parents were not given birthdates in these search results, but death dates for both were in the mid-1860s, when George would have been a boy of about eight or nine. Emma, on the other hand, was given a slightly more complete pedigree on the paternal Laxton line, going back from father William Preston Laxton, though there were still clearly errors in some of the information (such as the given birthdate for Emma's father, which was only two years earlier than her own).

I have not yet found confirmed birth records for either George or Emma, though I have found several candidates (primarily for George). Both families' surnames (Rudkin and Laxton) seem to have been relatively well-spread throughtout Lincolnshire, and the list of common given names in that time and place seems to be a short one. Interesting to me was finding the 1871 census record for the household of Henry and Sarah Rudkin in Gosberton, Lincolnshire, both in their early sixties and living with their thirteen-year-old grandson George Rudkin. This would suggest that the unsourced death dates for George's parents are likely correct, leaving him to live with his grandparents.

Following that census record was another from 1881 in Surfleet, Lincolnshire for George's household with wife Emma and daughter Annie E., whose age was listed in the index as 5W which I've interpreted to mean five weeks. This would mean the census was taken sometime in late March or early April, as Annie's birthdate is reported as 26 Feb 1881 (in both the England and Wales Birth Registration Index and the U.S. Social Security Death Index).

The names I have found so far for George's parents and grandparents have at least some confirmation in the names of George's sons. Oldest son George William Jr. is obviously George's own namesake, and the second son, infant death Henry (whose grave sits right beside his parents' in Cataract, Monroe Cty, Wisconsin), appears to be named for George's grandfather - the man who raised George during the very formative years as he grew from a boy to young manhood. Third son John appears to bear the name of George's father.

Interestingly, George and Emma did not seem to give names for their female ancestry to their daughters, though it should be noted that the unsourced information I had found early on indicated that Emma's paternal grandmother's maiden name was Elizabeth Ellis. The surname seems to be important to the family for reasons I have not yet discovered, as George and Emma gave their third son the name Ellis as a middle name (John Ellis Rudkin), and some of George and Emma's grandchildren also bear that name (notably Glenn Ellis Thompson and Ellis Edwin Wells). Several other grandchildren and great-grandchildren have a middle initial "E" which may well stand for Ellis, and Dewy Eugene Rudkin may have named his daughter Ellis (though this is unconfirmed).

A more thorough search of records and information from the Lincolnshire area should help fill out and substantiate this portion of the family tree.

Note: Legal action against George W. Rudkin Sr. by Richard Swinburne

In 1904, Richard M. Swinburne, first husband of George and Emma (Laxton) Rudkin's daughter Rose, filed suit against them in Monroe Cty (Wisconsin) Court for $5000 for distress and costs, alleging that they had conspired to prevent Rose (and his and Rose's infant son, Cevie Swinburne) from returning to him. The following is a timeline and summary of this court action. All events described occurred in the calendar year 1904.

-> The lawsuit was filed on 10th Feb, and Emma was served a summons for herself and George on the following day.
-> On 24th Feb, George and Emma filed a request that Richard be required to post security against costs, stating that Richard was not resident in the court's jurisdiction.
-> On 25th Feb, the court granted the Rudkins' request and ordered Richard to post $500 bond security.

-> On 1st Mar, Richard posted bond of $500, and the next day notice was provided to the court.

-> Depositions were taken (by attorneys for the plaintiff and the defendants) on 11th Mar, in Wales, Cavalier Cty, North Dakota; witnesses included:
Mr. Albert Montgomery, an occasional employer of Richard's.
Mrs. William Montgomery, a friend of Rose's from ND.
Mr. O.D. Ostby, a merchant in Wales, ND.
Mr. Arthur Thompson, a boarder and farmhand at the Swinburne residence.
Ms. Emma Kroetsch, a friend of Rose's from ND.
Mr. Charles Turner, a neighbor of Richard's.

Most of the testimony they provided was to the nature of Richard's character - his industriousness and dependability as a worker and farmer, his observed positive treatment of Rose, his general good character as a man and husband - and the cross-examinations revolved around questions of his temper, any propensity to drinking, and the possibility that the deposed were not constant witness to Richard's and Rose's marriage and couldn't attest to whether or not he abused her or mistreated her in private.

-> On 16th Mar, the defendants moved for a continuance to allow for the location and summoning to court of William Thompson as a witness; Mr. Thompson was currently logging in Minnesota, specific location unknown, and was said to have testimony considered vital to the Rudkins' defense against the suit. Mr. Thompson was expected to return sometime in the spring.

-> On 24th Sep, notice of hearing was given and a court date was scheduled for 4th Oct. A jury list for the court sessions of October was also posted.

-> On 6th Oct, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the defendants. On 15th Oct, judgement was entered for the defendants, who were awarded costs from the security bond posted. Court costs were also remitted from the bond.

No record has thus far become available of the court hearing itself, nor any further mention of what testimony William Thompson would have provided. After the motion for continuance, the next available court document is the jury finding and issue of judgement. It stands to reason that Richard faced something of an uphill battle, in that he was coming to court from well out-of-state and suing a man who had been resident in the county for over a decade, an English-born gentleman farmer and patriarch of a local family whose daughter he (Richard) married when she was barely sixteen years old and whom he (Richard) is alleged to have mistreated.

It should also be noted that this court action was separate from the divorce of Richard Swinburne and Rose Rudkin.

[Anniversary announcement for George and Emma Rudkin, from the Sparta Herald (WI), 10 Apr 1930.]

[headline]Observe Golden Anniversary of English Couple
[second line]Mr. and Mrs. George Rudkin celebrate 4,000 miles from marriage scene

Mr. and Mrs. George Rudkin, 605 Long Court sreet, celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary last Friday more than 4,000 miles from the scene of their marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Rudkin were married on April 4, 1880, at Tinchbeck [sic] Parish, Lincolnshire, England. Three years later they emigrated to the United States. They spent six years in Chicago, but left the city to come to Monroe county. Most of the ensuing 40 years have been spent on farms near Sparta, but for the past 10 years and for a three year period earlier they have made their residence in Sparta.

Last Friday their children and other relatives of Sparta and several other cities about the state were present at a reunion and dinner at the parental home. Friends visited them in the afternoon and presented them with many gifts of flowers, money, and other articles suitable to the occasion.

Among the dinner guests were Mr. and Mrs. T.I. Lawrence, Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Rudkin, Dr. and Mrs. C.E. Lehman, and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Larson, Sparta, Mr and Mrs. Ernest Thompson, Black River Falls; Mr. and Mrs. George Rudkin, Shamrock; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wells, Town of New Lyme; Mr. and Mrs. John Rudkin, Trout Falls; and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Rudkin, Cuba City.

[Death notice for George W. Rudkin (from the Sparta Herald, 5 Aug 1940.]

George W. Rudkin of 605 Long Court street died Sunday evening at 9:30. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon, at the house at 1:30 and at two o'clock at the Plummer funeral home.