| Notes |
- Andrew Nelson Truax’ Story…
Andrew Nelson’s first marriage was to Anna (Annie) Hefti. All my notes from my grandmother indicated that her name was Anna “Prohaska” and that she was from Iowa, so the recent discovery of this new last name “Hefti” was a surprise.
Anna (Annie) Prohaska was born in 1865 in Iowa – her father was Adam Prohaska (born in Czechoslovakia) and her mother was Elizabeth Straitor (“Strator” in another record), born in Austria.
Annie had a first marriage prior to marrying Andrew Nelson Truax.
I found a marriage record for David Hefti and Anna (Annie) Prohaska on July 27, 1882, in Iowa. With more searching, I discovered that Annie Hefti was in the 1885 Iowa State Census living with David Hefti and a 1-year old boy Frankie.
Annie Hefti and Andrew Nelson Truax were married on June 30, 1890, Iowa City, IA. The record notes that the spouse’s (Annie’s) father’s name is Adam Prohaska and mother’s name is Elizabeth Strator (“Straitor” in another record).
I don’t know what happened to Annie Hefti between 1885 and her second marriage to Andrew Nelson Truax in 1890 – perhaps her husband David Hefti and young son Frankie both died? That is the most logical conclusion I have.
After Annie married Andrew Truax in 1890, she had 6 children: Lulu May, William Andrew, Aubrey Nelson, Charles Abram, Philip Roemer and Werdna Belle (“Belle”). However, their marriage would be cut short by Annie’s death in 1907.
After Annie died, Andrew Nelson sent 2 of his sons to an orphanage in Lake Bluff, Illinois; 1 other son went to live with the Kretchmer family in South Dakota (not sure who these people but perhaps they were distant family) and the other was old enough to go to work and lived as a boarder in a home in Waukegan. Lulu Truax was already an adult at the time of her mother’s death and she lived on her own.
On March 19, 1910, Andrew Nelson married Emma Bockus; their marriage is recorded in Indiana, in Lake County. And following that, there is a 1910 U.S. Census record showing Andrew Nelson and Emma Truax living in Waukegan at 807 Grand Avenue. The record shows Belle Truax living with them, as well as a daughter Etta Bockus from her previous marriage. The new couple also takes in young Werdna Belle Truax to create a new blended family with the 2 daughters.
In the 1920 U.S. Census, Andrew Nelson Truax is still living in Waukegan, working as a carpenter; it is just he and Emma Truax living in the household.
In a 1919 Antioch News newspaper archive, there is a blurb “Mrs. Andrew Truax spent this week in Chicago and Indiana, attending the wedding of her son Ray Barkus (a typo, should be “Bockus”) in Chicago.” Emma had an older son Ray, who was an adult in 1910 and did not move in with his new blended family in Waukegan.
I do not know if Andrew ever saw any of his older children again. Andrew and his son Phil both lived in Waukegan area in the early 1920s. Waukegan was a very small town then, and I wonder if there was any contact, even just incidental?
Andrew Nelson Truax’ death certificate indicates that he died in Matoon, Illinois, and had lived there a little more than 3 years prior to his passing.
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Simmons-Truax-Godbout-Ames Family Tree
1854 - 1928 (73 years)
