The Hyphen Family Lineage

Note: Researching Russell L. Laxton and family

In addition to the lack of records I have yet found for his parents' earlier married years, I have not found any significant number of records to help solidify what I can find of Russell's life. Some of what follows is pieced together from ancillary records searches to try and better establish the identities of his wife and children.

I have not confirmed the actual spelling of Russell's name, though I will note that on his marriage license and his indexed Wisconsin death record, his name is given as Russell L. Laxton. The two census records I have found spell his name "Russel," though I would guess this is merely a mistake on the part of the census taker. I have not found a confirmed birth record for Russell, nor a burial location.

The earliest record I have found for Russell is the 1930 US Census listing for his household in La Crosse, La Crosse Cty, Wisconsin, where he was recorded as living with his maternal uncle John Hoenshel (only two years senior to Russell). Following this is the 1940 US Census listing for Russell's household in Sparta, Monroe Cty, Wisconsin, with Wisconsin-born wife Cora and three children, aged three to six. In trying to locate a marriage record for him, the one I found was from Lake Cty, Indiana, dated 1 Jan 1937, to Cora L. Freze; the record does not appear to contain further information about the couple.

Russell's wife Cora appears to be Cora Louise Freze, b. 25 Apr 1911, d. 6 Dec 1996 (according to her US Social Security Death Index record and her Wisconsin Death Index record). She appears to be the only surviving child of William Freze (b. 1885, d. 1955) and his first wife, whose name and vital dates I have not yet found. William was a son of German-born Edward Freze (b. 1851, d. 1912) and his Wisconsin-born wife (b. 16 Apr 1861, d. 14 Jan 1930), and appears to have been raised in Monroe Cty. William was listed in the census records as part of his parents' household in 1900 and 1910, but by 1920 the household consisted of William, his daughter Cora, his widowed mother Amelia, and two of his younger siblings. My assumption at this point is that William married sometime between 1910 and 1920, and at or after the birth of his daughter, his wife died, leaving him a widower who returned to living with his family. By 1930, William had remarried and had at least one more child, so Cora remained with her father's siblings, bachelor uncle Henry and married aunt Reaka (Freze) Kelsey and family.

Of the three children listed in Russell's household in the 1940 US Census, two of them appear to have birthdates that pre-date his marriage to Cora - Delores J. (b. about 1934) and Richard R. (who appears to be Richard R. "Dick" Laxton, b. 25 Aug 1935, d. 9 August 2010 according to his US Social Security Death Index record). The third, Gerald H., was listed in the 1940 US Census as three years of age, b. about 1937. The timeline would suggest that the older two children may have been born to a previous marriage or relationship of either Cora's or Russell's, and that the youngest came along soon after their marriage, but I have not found sufficient information to confirm this. I have also not found any record of a previous marriage for either Russell or Cora, nor have I found birth records for any of the three children. I also do not have information as to whether any further children were born to the family, or whether Russell and Cora remained married until death.