Vital Information
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Fred Forest Fulghum |
| Born | 21 Sep 1895, New Paris, Preble County, Ohio |
| Died | 20 Dec 1966, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri |
| Father | Calvin A. Fulghum (1867-1945) |
| Mother | Eva Eleanor Wiley Fulghum (1867-1948; m. 1890) |
| First wife | Margaret Parsons (b. 14 Jul 1897; d. 14 Dec 1926) |
| Ethnicity | French descent |
| Second wife | Sybil Dora Holt (m. 1927, Wichita, KS) |
| Biological son | Robert Edgar "Bob" Fulghum (1924, with Margaret) |
| Adopted son | Aura Gale Fulghum (1923). Born "Infant Lloyd" to Clara Lloyd; raised by Sybil and Clinton Orrill. Fred formally adopted Gale; amended birth certificate filed Jan 28, 1946 (State File AL 10906). |
| Religion | Presbyterian Church |
| Military | Corporal, US Army, World War I |
| Occupation | Gas Fitter; Superintendent/Assistant Supervisor, Gas Service Company ($180/month at time of adoption petition, ~1943) |
| Address | 1222 North Liberty, Independence, Missouri |
| Find a Grave | #25618094 |
| Burial | Oak Ridge Memory Gardens, Independence, Missouri (Devotion Garden) |
Biography
Data Discrepancies
| Field | Source A | Source B | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle name spelling | "Forest" (Find a Grave, WikiTree) | "Forrest" (amended birth certificate, State File AL 10906, handwritten) | "Forrest" may be the correct spelling per the vital record, but both forms appear in different sources. |
| Age at Gale's birth | 25 (amended birth certificate) | 27 (calculated from DOB Sep 21, 1895) | Age on amended certificate is incorrect by 2 years. Document was filed 23 years after the birth. |
Biography
Fred Forest Fulghum was born on 21 September 1895 in New Paris, Preble County, Ohio, to Calvin A. Fulghum and Eva Eleanor Wiley. He was of French descent. He served as a Corporal in the US Army during World War I in a Gas Service Company.
He married Margaret Parsons, with whom he had one son, Robert Edgar "Bob" Fulghum (1924), before Margaret died on 14 December 1926. In 1927, he married Sybil Dora Holt in Wichita, Kansas. At the time of the marriage, Sybil was caring for Gale, then 4 years old. Fred "knew of the child and was perfectly satisfied with the responsibility he was assuming" (Case AD-12551). The family moved to Independence, Missouri in 1929.
The adoption record (Case AD-12551, ~1943) describes Fred as Superintendent of the Gas Service Company in Independence, earning $180/month, owning his home at 1222 North Liberty. Both he and Sybil were members of the Presbyterian Church. He formally adopted Gale; the amended birth certificate was filed January 28, 1946 (State File AL 10906).
Fred worked for many years as a gas fitter and later as superintendent or assistant supervisor at Gas Service Company, living at 1222 North Liberty in Independence, Missouri, until his death on 20 December 1966. Gale's memoir "The Best of Times" portrays Fred as a significant parental figure.