Florence La Badie - Early Life

Early Life

While her film career is well documented, her early life is somewhat clouded in mystery, from who her real parents were to what her birth name actually was. She was said to be the daughter of Joseph E. La Badie and his wife Amanda, from Montreal, Quebec. However, it has also been claimed that she was born in Austin, Texas and adopted by the La Badie family. Another source, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), lists her as having been born in New York City, with the birth name of Florence Russ.

While there is much evidence of her having been raised in Montreal, in an alleged sworn deposition on October 8, 1917, a New York woman named Marie C. Russ had claimed to be Florence's biological mother and referred to a Russ family burial plot in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, with lot number 17187 being reserved for Florence Russ, aka Florence La Badie. This supposed legal deposition was dated five days before Florence's death. There was evidence to support that she was the granddaughter of a Louisa Russ, who had purchased the family plot in Green-Wood. There were also indications that she was legally adopted by Joseph La Badie as a child, and her name changed. However, although it is likely that she was adopted, it might be noted that at the time of her deposition, Marie C. Russ was residing in the "Home for Incurables" mental institution, in New York City. Although indications are somewhat overwhelming that La Badie probably in fact was adopted, Marie C. Russ stated herself in the deposition that the adoption was "legal".