Be sure to advise other FODGE/FUDGE researchers who would like to benefit from this informative book, and keep in mind that Some FODGE and FUDGE, Volume IV, would make an outstanding gift for any FODGE or FUDGE family tree researcher.

The cost of Some FODGE and FUDGE, Volume IV is $22.95,  including shipping and handling. You may order directly from the Lee's by clicking Order Form,  printing and completing the form, and sending with a check or money order to:

Bill Lee
P O Box 321
La Feria TX 78559

Do not send cash.  Texas residents: Add 8.25% sales tax. International and Canadian customers: Please pay in U.S. funds.
 

LaVonne's maiden name was FODGE.  In 1987 she and her husband, Bill Lee, began traveling from county to county in the Western states, doing research on a number of family names, FODGE among them.  It soon became evident that the similarity in the names FODGE and FUDGE caused problems in the county records, and were Sometimes confused for each other, so we began taking information from county records for both names.  The end result has been a great deal of information gathered on the names FODGE and FUDGE from county records, libraries and directories.  Wishing to share this information with others who are interested in the history of FODGEs and/or FUDGEs, in 1989 we published FODGE and FUDGE in the Pacific Northwest.  This is an indexed 45 page book on the subject names from every county courthouse in the states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon.  In 2002 we put together Some FODGE and FUDGE - Volume II, which is a continuation of the earlier book, and contains abstracts of county courthouse records from the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Some FODGE and FUDGE - Volume III is a continuation of the earlier books and contains abstracts of county courthouse records from the states of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.  Time and resources did not allow us the opportunity to visit every county in these states.  We did search for any occurrence of the subject names in Pike County, IL; Preble County, OH, and in the following Indiana counties:  Brown, Carroll, DuBois, Elkhart, Fountain, Henry, Huntington, Kosciusko, Lake, Noble, Parke, Vermillion, Wabash, Warren, Wayne and Whitley.  Any of the above listed counties that are not included in the book have been omitted because we found no FODGE or FUDGE records in those counties.  The records searched were marriage records, civil and criminal court records, probate records, military discharge recordings, birth records and death records.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time in Preble County, OH, so civil and criminal court records were not searched, nor were birth and death records.  A great deal more information could be added by including these records.  The information shown in the book for any counties not listed above was taken, for the most part, from the WPA books that are available in several libraries around the country.

Even though we recognize the genealogical value of these records, we did not include land records in this book because of the volume of this type record.  We also did not include court records from anything but the highest court in a jurisdiction.  Records in city courts and lower county courts are too voluminous and contain such things as minor (and Some not so minor) traffic violations.  Not only does searching these records take an inordinate amount of time and book space, the maintenance of these records is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another, and are often not available.  However, the presence of FUDGEs or FODGEs in a particular area can be determined from the records we have included in the book, and further research in a specific area can be performed if one desires.

The book is divided into four main sections.  The first section contains selected articles from local histories and newspapers (mostly obituaries).  These are copied verbatim except in a few instances where we felt compelled to correct atrocious grammar (ours isn't that perfect either, but occasionally we had to interfere) or obvious errors in content.  These articles are presented alphabetically by state, and chronologically by date of publication within state.

The second section contains abstracts of county records from each county where we did research.  This section is in order alphabetically by county within state.  Within each county we have presented marriage records first, court records next, then probate records, military discharge recordings, births and, lastly, deaths.  Each group is in chronological order by date of occurrence or date of recording.  On occasion you will discover the same person married two or more times in the marriage records, then, later in the book, the person's divorce in the court records.  The divorce actually happened between the two marriages that appeared earlier, but appears afterward because of the grouping of the records.

The next section of the book contains directory information - street address and phone number.  We make no claims that these names include every FUDGE or FODGE living in the country, or that the names, addresses or phone numbers are current.  We only hope that the listings, which we took from switchboard.com on the internet, are relatively accurate.  This section is presented alphabetically by name within city within state.

The last section of the book is the index.  Our index is, literally, an every name index, and then Some.  Every person in the book is indexed, including both the married name and pre-married name for brides, making the assumption that the bride has followed the traditional custom of taking the husband's surname.  We have also indexed the maiden name and married name of those women where both names are obvious.  Some examples: LaVonne FODGE married Donald MUSSER.  We indexed LaVonne under both FODGE and MUSSER.  Marvin FUDGE married Joan THORNTON.  Joan is indexed under both FUDGE and THORNTON.  Marvin's parents were Russell FUDGE and Edith STOOPS. Edith is indexed under both FUDGE and STOOPS.

A few words need to be said about research at county courthouses.  First, a researcher is totally at the mercy of the personnel working in the various courthouses.  Some counties have personnel who are both knowledgeable and helpful, while other counties have personnel who are neither.  The norm is Somewhere between these two extremes.  We have been in courthouses that were so enjoyable we hated to leave, and in others where we were sorry we ever went.  Research in our public records is a challenge!  Secondly, the quality and content of county records vary widely from one jurisdiction to another and also over time.  In general, the counties included in this book had reasonably good records, but a marked difference can be seen in the content of marriage records from the earlier times to more recent times.  In a few cases we were denied access to records, Some for valid legal reasons, others because of misinterpretation of a law or clerk indifference, or Sometimes because the record in question could not be found.  These are indicated in the book.

We have made every effort to report the data as we saw it.  However, Some of the source material is Sometimes in error, and other times difficult to interpret.  In Some instances the same name is spelled differently on the same form (most obvious is FODGE and FUDGE), and there are occasions where what is obviously the same person has a different name from one record to another.  FODGE/FUDGE and PENCE/PENSE come quickly to mind, but there are others.  We have made little effort to correct these discrepancies.  There is also the case where we have introduced errors in the transcription of the data, although we have attempted to minimize this type error.  Some of the records list a great deal of information, others very little.  We have attempted to report all the information contained in the original records.  Some of the court records are subject to individual interpretation.  We are not attorneys, and have only attempted to summarize the content of the court cases.  Any individual interested in more detail on any of these cases may find the case files available to the public(?) at the indicated county courthouse by requesting the specified case number.

As mentioned above, the first volume of our FODGE/FUDGE offerings covers the three states of the Pacific Northwest, the second volume the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.  The third volume you have in your hands.  Volume IV, currently being prepared, covers selected records from California, and every county in the states of Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.  We appreciate your continued interest in this project, and information on the described books can be obtained from the compilers at the address listed below.

Finally, we want to thank the many people who have helped make this book possible.  First has to be the many fine citizens in the covered states who provided services to us during our travels.  Those people include RV park proprietors and employees, service station operators, restaurateurs, and, in general, all the fine people we had the privilege of coming in contact with.  And we thank all the personnel at the county courthouses who were most helpful, and those who were not quite as helpful as well.  It is to this group of people we have entrusted the care of our county records.  These records are probably the most precious gift of one generation to another.

                                                                                                Bill and LaVonne Lee
                                                                                                P O Box 321
                                                                                                La Feria TX 78559

                                                          February, 2004

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RELATED  WEBSITES

FODGE Genealogy and Family History at WorldVitalRecords.com.

FUDGE Genealogy and Family History at WorldVitalRecords.com.

FODGE Genealogy and Family History at OneGreatFamily.com.

FUDGE Genealogy and Family History at OneGreatFamily.com.

FODGE Genealogy and Family History at Ancestry.com.

FUDGE Genealogy and Family History at Ancestry.com.

FODGE Genealogy and Family History at mycinnamontoast.com.

FUDGE Genealogy and Family History at mycinnamontoast.com.

FODGE Records at Footnote.com.

FUDGE Records at Footnote.com.

FODGE Cemetery Records at Findagrave.com.

FUDGE Cemetery Records at Findagrave.com.

FODGE Cemetery Records at Interment.net.

FUDGE Cemetery Records at Interment.net.

FUDGE Genealogy of Adams County, Iowa.

FODGE at Genealogy Today.

FUDGE at Genealogy Today.

FODGE Queries at CousinConnect.com.

FUDGE Queries at CousinConnect.com.
 

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