After 6 years of my own searching - I am getting close to finding some answers. Other members of my family have been researching our ancestors for over half a century. I recently found "I. Fondy" listed in the 1840 Census in the city of St. Louis.
We had suspected that our family was somehow tied in to the
FONDA family of
New York, but when we saw that
Vrooman FONDY was from
Schoharie County,
New York in some National Archives pension documents, we were a bit more certain. I decided to start looking at FONDAs and FONDEYs from the Albany and
Mohawk valley area - but there were so many FONDAs, I did not have much success. I even traveled cross-country to try to find some clues - but came up almost empty. There was an offshoot of the
FONDA family who spelled their names
FONDEY. I began looking at John
FONDEY,
Junior and his family - but also came up empty. He had two brothers - but various publications led me to believe that their descendants were not directly related to my line.
The 2005 inclusion of the Early American Newspapers online database as part of my membership with the
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society was the breakthrough I needed! An obituary in the NewYork Evening Post, dated 28 Nov. 1806 gave a date of death of November 19th for Douw I. Fondey.
After researching the
FONDA and
FONDEY familes for decades, searching libraries in 30 states, and scouring the internet, we never had found a death date of 1806 for Douw
FONDEY or any Douw
FONDA. This new information was just one tidbit which would lead to many other revelations. I was able to deduce that Douw I. FONDEY was from
Saratoga County, he served as an
Ensign in the Revolutionary War, was an Associate
Justice of the
Peace and
Sheriff of
Saratoga County, and at one time was Collector of the Revenue. His office was at his home at Ballston in 1798. He served in the
New York State Assembly in 1797 and 1798. He may have been referred to at times as Douw J. FONDEY or Douw I. FONDA. Further research revealed that he was an
Adjutant to Alexander
HAMILTON, and was probably at the battle of Yorktown.
My findings have been published in the Summer 2006 edition of "The
New York Researcher." I would especially like to contact any members of the
Winne family or Epenetus WHITE family or David
FONDA family who may have any info on the FONDEYS. I am grateful to the NYG&B and the Newsbank on-line database "Early American Newspapers" on the World Wide Web:
http://www.genealogybank.com