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THE FRY FAMILY TREEThis family tree was originally researched and recorded by David Fry of Tunbridge Wells. David made the results of his research available to us at Frenchay Village Museum, with the express purpose of making it available to anyone interested in the Fry family. This we have endeavored to do by adding it to our website as a free resource. It shows many other families as well for this 2012 version features well over 2000 individuals and more than 500 family names. Sadly, this research is published posthumously, as David died in the Spring of 2014. We, and family historians everywhere, owe a great debt of thanks to David and his family – his wife Jackie and daughter Nina and her husband Zach - for the efforts they made to ensure we were able to make this information available. Published by Frenchay Village Museum in March 2016 David Fry
David Fry was born on 4th January 1940 in Shoreham, Sussex. He married Jacqueline Woodward (Jackie) in 1967 in Reading, Berkshire, and their daughter Nina was born in 1970. In the 1990s, with Jackie’s invaluable help, David started researching his ancestors, and he went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the accuracy of his findings. The results of his many years of research is not just a list of names and relationships, but copious notes on where the information came from, and reports of visits made to confirm facts. He visited Frenchay on several occasions, most notably in 2003, when events were held to mark the 275th anniversary of the founding of J S Fry & Sons, the famous chocolate manufacturer. David’s research had shown that the firm’s founder, Dr. Joseph Fry, was his 1st Cousin 7 times removed. Sadly, David died on 16th May 2014 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Just before his death David told us that he wanted the fruits of his research to come to Frenchay Village Museum, and we are grateful to his family who made sure this happened. In the Spring of 2015 we collected boxes of paper records from Jackie, which covered some twenty years of research, and in August 2015 Jackie, with her daughter Nina and son-in-law Zach came to Frenchay with a box of discs containing David’s “Family Tree Maker” backup files. The latest of these has been used to generate the pdf file “Fry Family Tree”, which is on this website. We are very grateful to David and his family for entrusting us with his research, a lasting legacy that will be invaluable to researchers around the world, now and in the future. The photograph above of David and Jackie was taken on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Descendants of John Frye 
Generation 1 JOHN1 FRYE was born about 1450. He married Johanna about 1472. She was born about 1450. Notes for John Frye: Family Tree File No. 44 13th Great Grandfather Notes for Johanna: Family Tree File No. 44 13th Great Grandmother John Frye and Johanna had the following child: i. JOHN2 FRYE was born about 1474. He died in 1556. He married (1) JOHANNA about 1499 in Corston, Wilts. She was born about 1478. She died before 1550 in Rodburn, Wilts. He married (2) AGNES LIGHT. She was born about 1474 (Corston, Wilts). 
Generation 2 JOHN2 FRYE (John1) was born about 1474. He died in 1556. He married (1) JOHANNA about 1499 in Corston, Wilts. She was born about 1478. She died before 1550 in Rodburn, Wilts. He married (2) AGNES LIGHT. She was born about 1474 (Corston, Wilts). Notes for John Frye: Family Tree File No. 44 12th Great Grandfather Notes for Johanna: Family Tree File No. 44 11th Great Grandmother John Frye and Johanna had the following children: JOHN3 FRYE was born about 1500. THOMAS FRYE was born about 1502. iii. WILLIAM FRYE was born in 1528 in Corston, Wiltshire. He died after 1572 in Corston, Wilts. He married Elizabeth about 1553 in Corston, Wilts. She was born in 1532 (Malmesbury, Wilts). She died after 1597 in Rodburn, Wilts.
Generation 3 WILLIAM3 FRYE (John2, John1) was born in 1528 in Corston, Wiltshire. He died after 1572 in Corston, Wilts. He married Elizabeth about 1553 in Corston, Wilts. She was born in 1532 (Malmesbury, Wilts). She died after 1597 in Rodburn, Wilts. Notes for William Frye: Family Tree File No. 43 11th Great Grandfather 2003...15 May...Looked for more children on Familysearch. Found no more. Notes for Elizabeth: Family Tree File No. 43 11th Great Grandmother William Frye and Elizabeth had the following child: i. ROBERT4 FRY was born in 1557 (Malmesbury, Wilts). He died on 23 Sep 1619 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. He married Margaret about 1582 in Malmesbury, Generation 3 (con't) Wilts. She was born about 1557.
Generation 4 ROBERT4 FRY (William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born in 1557 (Malmesbury, Wilts). He died on 23 Sep 1619 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. He married Margaret about 1582 in Malmesbury, Wilts. She was born about 1557. Notes for Robert Fry: Family Tree File No. 42 10th Great Grandfather Notes for Margaret: Family Tree File No. 42 10th Great Grandmother Robert Fry and Margaret had the following children: AGNES5 FRY was born about 1583. ii. ALEXANDER FRY was born in 1585 (Corston/Malmesbury, Wiltshire). He died in 1638 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. He married Mary about 1610 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. She was born about 1585 (Malmesbury, Wiltshire). She died in 1638 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. RICHARD FRY was born about 1587. MARGARET FRY was born about 1598. She married Thomas Pynnell on 20 Jan 1613. He was born about 1598.
Generation 5 ALEXANDER5 FRY (Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born in 1585 (Corston/Malmesbury, Wiltshire). He died in 1638 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. He married Mary about 1610 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. She was born about 1585 (Malmesbury, Wiltshire). She died in 1638 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Notes for Alexander Fry: Family Tree File No. 41 OUR 9th Great Grandfather 2011...23 June... Details of all the childrens dying in Infancy taken from : Portraits of the Fry Family Book 1, no 2 Notes for Mary: Family Tree File No. 41 No Surname on IGI.... 9th Great Grandmother Alexander Fry and Mary had the following children: ROBERT6 FRY was born about Feb 1611. MARY FRY was born about Dec 1613. SUSSANNA FRY was born about 1615. She died on 08 May 1629. JANE FRY was born about 1618. She died (Died Young). ANN FRY was born about 1619. She died on 22 Mar 1619. JOHN FRY was born about 1621. He died on 20 Mar 1621. vii. WILLIAM FRY was born in May 1627 in Marden, Wilts. He died in 1627. He married Mary Storrs about 1652 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. She was born about 1627 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She died after 1695 in Malmesbury, Wilts. SARAH FRY was born about 1628. She died on 03 Nov 1637. Generation 5 (con't) MARGARET FRY was born about 1631. She died on 07 Aug 1631. ELIZABETH FRY was born about 1634. She died on 14 Apr 1634. ANTHONY FRY was born about 1635.
Generation 6 WILLIAM6 FRY (Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born in May 1627 in Marden, Wilts. He died in 1627. He married Mary Storrs about 1652 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. She was born about 1627 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She died after 1695 in Malmesbury, Wilts. Notes for William Fry: Family Tree File No. 40 Not sure of the Details of William OUR 8th GREAT GRANDFATHER Clothworker... this appears to be the first found 'Occupation of Clothworker in the Fry Family'. Note: According to The Family History Magazine the Civil War was between 1642 and 1650 and The Society of Friends was established in 1647 by George Fox. 2001...20 June...At Bristol Records Office/Archives of J.S.Fry & Sons/ Notes on the Pedigree of the Family of Fry, by Sir John Pease Fry, Page 1& 2, it says...Living within the sphere of influence of the Great Abbey of Malmesbury, it is probable that the Frys, like so many other English freeman in mediaeval times, suffered at the hands both of the Church and Crown, and had little love for either, a trait long noticeable in our own and other branches of the family , and particularly prominent in the history of John Fry [1609-1657], the regicide member for Dorsetshire in the Long Parliament, who himself had probably a Wiltshire origin and whose family was possibly connected with our own. William Fry, of Sutton Benger [1627-1698], a sturdy Puritan, was one of the earliest adherents of George Fox, and a century later we find Joseph Fry, of Bristol [1728-1787], displaying the same characteristic family tendencies [see Latimer's "Annals of Bristol," p. 178]. Notes for Mary Storrs: Family Tree File No. 40 Note: According to The Family History Magazine the Civil War was between 1642 and 1650 and The Society of Friends was established in 1647 by George Fox. William Fry and Mary Storrs had the following children: ALEXANDER7 FRY was born in Jan 1653 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). He died in Jul 1665 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. Notes for Alexander Fry: Alternative dates shown on IGI. Birth about 1660, at Sutton Benger and Death about 1695 at Sutton Benger.Parents William Fry & Mary ELIZABETH FRY was born on 27 Jan 1635. She died on 06 Nov 1679. iii. ZEPHANIAH FRY was born on 02 Aug 1658 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England. He died on 04 Mar 1724 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. He married Jane Smith, daughter of William Smith, on 08 Feb 1686 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. She was born in 1658 in Marden, Wiltshire (On the Salisbury Plain). She died on 15 Sep 1731 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. WILLIAM FRY was born on 18 Aug 1665 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). He died in May 1675 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. MARGARET FRY was born about 1667 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). DEBORAH FRY was born on 06 Mar 1667 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). She married Bradbury. He was born about 1666. Generation 6 (con't) Notes for Deborah Fry: 2001...8 November...Cannot find trace of Marriage on IGI Family Search RUTH FRY was born about 1669 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). Notes for Ruth Fry: 1698...Proved her Fathers Will in 1698 [according to Cadbury's Pedigree Tree of the Fry's] ALEXANDER FRY was born about 1672 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). He died after 1695 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. SARAH FRY was born on 18 Jul 1673 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). She died on 13 Jul 1675 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. JANE FRY was born about 1674 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire). She died after 1695 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. She married Jeff before 1695 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. He was born about 1670 (Sutton Benger, Wiltshire).
Generation 7 ZEPHANIAH7 FRY (William6, Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born on 02 Aug 1658 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England. He died on 04 Mar 1724 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. He married Jane Smith, daughter of William Smith, on 08 Feb 1686 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. She was born in 1658 in Marden, Wiltshire (On the Salisbury Plain). She died on 15 Sep 1731 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. Notes for Zephaniah Fry: Family Tree File No. 39 This is the FIRST ZEPHANIAH and OUR SEVENTH GREAT GRANDFATHER 1719...31 November & 7th December...The following members of the Fry Family attended the Marriage of Jacob Young and Mary Smart. We found the Marriage entry showing them as Witnesses at the FRC on the 4th October 2001 when we visited there. The Reference was RG6/ 1539/029/25. The Witnesses were William Fry, Zeph Fry, Richard Fry, Margaret Fry & Mary Fry. This 'Zeph' had to be the one because 'Zeph' his son had died in 1716. 2000...October...According to The Dictionery of National Biography, 1912-1921, pages 200, for Sir Edward Fry, [Born November 1827, Died 1918] it says' he was a member of a 'Long established Wessex Family at Corston, near Malmesbury, who followed George Fox and was imprisoned as a Recalcitrant Quaker in 1684'. We will try to find out about this. TD list 20/10/2001************ ...1....Their son... Zephaniah... went off and produced the 'Clothier [or 'Clothes' }' line that we are descended from. ...2....Their son... John ............ went off and produced Dr. Joseph of 'Fry's Chocolate' fame 2001... January 5...According to Lincoln'n Inn Library who sent us Chapter 1 of 'A Memoir of Sir Edward Fry, by his Daughter Agnes [printed in 1921], " The family appears to have maintained itself at Corston until the times of the Civil War, when it seems that they lost their property and migrated a few miles to the village of Sutton Benger, where one of the family- by name Zephaniah-became a follower of George Fox, and in 1684 'was taken at a meeting of the Quakers' and' was tendered the oath of allegiance, and for refusing to swear was imprisoned for three months" [2] Besse's Sufferings of The Quakers, published 1753. According to The Family History Magazine the Civil War was between 1642 and 1650 and The Society of Friends was established in 1647 by George Fox. 20 June 2001***********Imprisonment...Taken from Bristol Records Office on visit / Files of Dr. Joseph Fry, Chocolate Maker / Accession Number. AN 27041018/ M0003610AN/ B20853 / Biography [50 Pages], it says on page 1..." Whether born a Quaker or not, we know that he was one in 1683, when he was 25, for his name appears in a list of Friends arrested by one, Thomas Generation 7 (con't) Stokes, Church Warden of "Konton" [sic] [Keynsham?. Attendance of meetings for worship was illegal under the Conventicle Act. He was ordered to take the Oath of Allegience. This was refused, Quakers following literally the command ' Swear not at all', and he was sent to prison in Ilchester Gaol for three months, a mild sentrence for those days"... 2001...4 October...At the FRC, see above 1719 for details of what we found this day. 2003...27 March...Jackie & I visit Sutton Benger Post Office and purchase the book "Sutton Benger, by Kay S Taylor...Extracts from the Book "Sutton Benger from Saxon Times to the Dawn of the 21st Century, by Kay S. Taylor."Page 17...Religious refugees from the continent, many of whom were in the textile industry, chose to settle in towns such as Trowbridge, Chippenham, and Bradford-on-Avon, which were centres of the Wiltshire clothing trade. . ....There is some correlation between the clothing towns and the areas in which Quakerism flourished. The seventeenth century clothier, Zephaniah Fry, embraced the doctrines of the new Society of Friends, with his home in Sutton Benger becoming a centre of Quakerism... In 1727 the newly built home of Zephaniah's son John, now the Vintige Inn in Seagry Road, was given a certificate of registration as a Quaker Meeting House. It was John's son Joseph who moved to Bristol where he founded the Fry's Chocolate Factory...Quakers were still much in evidence, although the Rev Davies had poor opinion of them. He provided the information that there were about seven known Quakers in two families of low degree... As already noted above, a century earlier the Quakers in Sutton Benger had been leading members of the community, with wealthy clothier Zephaniah Fry being a prominent figure in the North Wiltshire Society of Friends.... Not all the eighteenth century Quakers here were such humble stock as the Rev Davies implied, as Zephaniah's descendant John Fry was still active among them, and had published a book of Selected poems containing Religious Epistles etc. which was prefaced "Sutton Benger 25 March 1774"... 2003...28 June ...Whilst on holiday, Jackie & I visit Ilchester, a tiny Town, which, for 500 years was the County Town of Somerset. We visited the Museum and found details of the Jail that had been there, until it was demolished about 1846. The only sign of the Prison now is the long wall that fronts onto the river. We are awaiting any details from the Curator of the Museum. 2003...18 September...at FRC...found Original Marriage Entry. 2003...18 September...On a visit to the FRC...we find a Marriage of a George Grant & Ann Sparrow that Zephaniah & Jane were Witnesses to, dated 6th July 1697. We have taken a photocopy of the entry 2004...21 April...I found Zephaniah's Will dated 28 August 1724 at The National Archives internet site under Ref no PROB 11/ 599 File ref no No 51
thr Society of Friends to which some of his decendants are still attached Generation 7 (con't) Notes for Jane Smith: Family Tree File No. 39 Zephaniah Fry and Jane Smith had the following children: MARY8 FRY was born on 03 Feb 1687 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She died on 04 Jan 1763 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. Notes for Mary Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part of 39 ii. ZEPHANIAH FRY was born on 30 Nov 1688 in Sutton Benger,Wiltshire. He died in Sep 1716 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. He married Margaret Jefferies on 15 Feb 1712 in Bremhill, Chippenham, Wilts. She was born about 1692 (Bremhill, Wiltshire). She died on 13 Feb 1755 in Draycott, Wilts. WILLIAM FRY was born on 16 Jun 1691 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). He died on 03 Apr 1748 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. Notes for William Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part 0f 39 Unmarried iv. RICHARD FRY was born on 21 Mar 1694 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). He died on 24 Jul 1772 in Calne, Wilts. He married Martha Storrs, daughter of Joseph Storrs and Katharine Frost, on 18 Jun 1728 in Chesterfield, Derby. She was born on 30 Jul 1707 (Chesterfield, Derby). She died on 10 Jun 1780. JANE FRY was born on 29 Oct 1696 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She died on 13 Dec 1702 in Sutton Benger, Wilts. Notes for Jane Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part of 39 2003...18 September...at the FRC...Birth Entry on RG 6 1312 is impossible to read. vi. MARGARET FRY was born on 26 Dec 1699 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She married Anthony Lawrence on 28 Aug 1721 in Hullavington, Nr Corston, Wilts. He was born in 1696 (Malmesbury, Wiltshire). vii. JOHN FRY was born on 29 Sep 1701 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England. He died on 23 Aug 1775 in Melksham, Wilts. He married Mary Storrs, daughter of Joseph Storrs and Katharine Frost, in Mar 1726 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She was born on 25 Mar 1703 (Chesterfield, Derbyshire). She died on 17 Sep 1775 in Melksham, Wilts. JANE FRY was born on 11 Feb 1703 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She died on 23 Dec 1704 in Sutton Benger, Wilts.
Generation 8 ZEPHANIAH8 FRY (Zephaniah7, William6, Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born on 30 Nov 1688 in Sutton Benger,Wiltshire. He died in Sep 1716 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. He married Margaret Jefferies on 15 Feb 1712 in Bremhill, Chippenham, Wilts. She was born about 1692 (Bremhill, Wiltshire). She died on 13 Feb 1755 in Draycott, Wilts. Notes for Zephaniah Fry: Family Tree File No. 30 OUR 6th Great Grandfather Known as Zephaniah Junior ? see death Register. He died at the age of 28. 2006...23 may...A Letter from Mrs. Anne R. Wolforth, of Aldwick, West Sussex, sends me details she has of part of the Fry Family including a copy of the Will of Zephaniah Fry [ born 1688 ]. Generation 8 (con't) Notes for Margaret Jefferies: Family Tree File No. 30 2001...17 November...Cannot find her parents on IGI Family Search Zephaniah Fry and Margaret Jefferies had the following children: i. JANE9 FRY was born on 28 Feb 1714 (Chippenham, Wilts). She married Oliver Gale about 1734 in ? Wiltshire. He was born about 1714. ii. ZEPHANIAH FRY was born on 25 Dec 1715 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. He died on 30 Apr 1787 in The Fish Ponds, Bristol. He married Abigail Hiscox, daughter of Robert Hiscox and Elizabeth Arney, on 11 Mar 1741 in Friends Meeting House, Bristol. She was born on 02 Mar 1707 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. She died on 06 Jul 1781 in Stapleton Ash, Co. of Glos. RICHARD8 FRY (Zephaniah7, William6, Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born on 21 Mar 1694 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). He died on 24 Jul 1772 in Calne, Wilts. He married Martha Storrs, daughter of Joseph Storrs and Katharine Frost, on 18 Jun 1728 in Chesterfield, Derby. She was born on 30 Jul 1707 (Chesterfield, Derby). She died on 10 Jun 1780. Notes for Richard Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. 2003...18 September...at the FRC...Birth Entry on RG 6 1312 is impossible to read. 2006...20 May...Anne R. Wolforth phoned to say she has the Will of Richard Fry and will send me a copy. 2006...25 May... I have recieved a copy of Richards Will from Mrs Anne R. Wolforth Notes for Martha Storrs: Fry Family Tree Item No. Richard Fry and Martha Storrs had the following children: i. WILLIAM9 FRY was born about 1730. He married Janey about 1758. She was born about 1730. She died on 25 May 1785. 15. ii. RICHARD FRY was born on 12 Oct 1732 (Chippenham, Wiltshire). He died on 24 Jul 1772 in Calne, Wiltshire. He married Ann Smith on 30 Nov 1762 in Quaker Wiltshire Monthly Meeting, Slaughterford, Wiltshire. She was born about 1732. She died on 18 Aug 1766 in Pickwick, Wiltshire. KATHERINE FRY was born on 19 Sep 1736. She married William Gundry on 19 Oct 1763 in Quaker Monthly Meeting, Wilshire. He was born about 1736. JOSEPH FRY was born on 22 Jul 1740 (Chippenham, Wiltshire). He died on 13 Nov 1766 in Calne, Wiltshire. Notes for Joseph Fry: OUR FIRST COUSIN 7 TIMES REMOVED --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ 12 January 2004...The following Birth entries are on the IGI FamilySearch... [1]Joseph Fry, born 22 sep 1740 at Sutton Benger Wilts, to Richard Fry & Martha, Batch No.5015442, source Call 1553754, Sheet 27 [2]Joseph Fry, born 22 July 1740 at Nailsworth, Gloucester, Father Richard Fry, Spouse Martha, Batch No. 7213007, Sheet 74, Source Call 0820349 [3]Joseph Fry, born 22 Sept 1740 at Chippenham, Wilts, to Richard Fry & Mother Martha, Batch No. 7213007, Sheet 34, Source call no. 0820349 [4]Joseph Fry, born 22 Jul 1740 Nailsworth, Gloucester to Richard fry & Martha, Generation 8 (con't) Batch No. 7231208, sheet 14, Source call 0822540 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- " A minister about 2 Years. [Quaker Digest of Deaths, Wiltshire HANNAH STORRS FRY was born on 19 May 1746 (Calne, Wiltshire). She died on 25 Jul 1791. Notes for Hannah Storrs Fry: Part of Number 39 2003...Tried Familysearch for Death details; Nothing MARGARET8 FRY (Zephaniah7, William6, Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born on 26 Dec 1699 (Sutton Benger, Wilts). She married Anthony Lawrence on 28 Aug 1721 in Hullavington, Nr Corston, Wilts. He was born in 1696 (Malmesbury, Wiltshire). Notes for Margaret Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part of 39 2003...18 September...at the FRC...Birth Entry on RG 6 1312 is impossible to read. Notes for Anthony Lawrence: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part of 39 Anthony Lawrence and Margaret Fry had the following child: ANTHONY9 LAWRENCE was born on 14 Apr 1723 (Charlton, by Malmesbury, Wiltshire). JOHN8 FRY (Zephaniah7, William6, Alexander5, Robert4, William3 Frye, John2 Frye, John1 Frye) was born on 29 Sep 1701 in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England. He died on 23 Aug 1775 in Melksham, Wilts. He married Mary Storrs, daughter of Joseph Storrs and Katharine Frost, in Mar 1726 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She was born on 25 Mar 1703 (Chesterfield, Derbyshire). She died on 17 Sep 1775 in Melksham, Wilts. Notes for John Fry: Fry Family Tree Item No. Part of 39 This Union led to the 'Chocolate Fry Family' A lot of data is from Cadbury's Pedigree of the Family of Fry, Somerville, Bristol, Letter dated 25 May 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- 2001...20 June...Taken from Bristol Records Office, on a visit... / Files of Dr. Joseph Fry, Chocolate Maker / Accession Number/ AN 27041018/ M0003610AN/ B20853 / The Biography of Marion Fry Pease, [48 Pages], .............It says on page 1 & 2 ...Zephaniah married Jane Smith in 1686, of whom I know nothing. They had eight children, four sons and four daughters. Their youngest son, John (1701-1775) thus describes their home in "the little village" of Sutton Benger "quite in the country", as it still is:- "Here first I breathed and so became the care Of an industrious, frugal, pious pair; And providence, propitious, deigned to bless Their outward labours with deserved success." Zephaniah was, as was his father before him, engaged in the cloth trade. A letter to his son, John, then an apprentice in London, dated 1717, speaks of sending worsted yarn with which he is to "desire thy Aunt to knit thy hosen". Generation 8 (con't) We are descended from this John, the youngest of the four sons, born in 1701. He wrote and published several little books of verse and, in one, records autobiographical details. He writes that "when suitable (say at 13 or 14) I was removed from home" and "planted in the great metropolis", where he often wanted the advice and help of his parents "amidst the hurries and the strife of trade, I found myself alone "deprived of outward help, no counsellor at hand". He then turned for help to "his parents' God" and realised that he must leave London. He seems to have done this on his marriage with Mary Storrs in 1726, when he was only 25; yet in some verses entitled "A Resolution Realized" written some years before this date he describes himself as "blest in his present condition", not wishing either for riches or "for more business because of its cares", but intending to use thankfully "what the bounty of heaven has furnished as needful, not sparingly given". One wonders how this youth of, say 22 or 23, could have made sufficient savings on which to live simply for the rest of his life. There is no indication of the nature of his business. The dates seem to be about 1715 to 1726 - almost exactly those of the unquiet years of the reign of George 1st. In 1720-21 London was distracted by the South Sea Bubble. Did John Fry speculate successfully in the shares? Many Quakers, it is recorded, managed to lose their money in it! (N.B. I am informed that in the 18th Century it was quite common for a man to take shares in a ship and, if the voyage proved successful, to find himself suddenly a rich man.) So in 1726, when he was 25, he could contemplate marriage with Mary Storrs, daughter of Joseph Storrs of Chesterfield, and build a small house in Sutton Benger. It still stands, with their initials "J.M.F." and the date, 1726, over what was the door. He tells us how he "retired from trade to a still, quiet life" "withonly one servant, myself and my wife, to a rural, convenient and good habitation. "And what time I don't in my duty employ, With my garden, my books and my pen I enjoy, Save in rides and in walks; and I then contemplate, How seldom such favours are known by the great." So John and Mary, at 25 and 23, settled down, as they hoped, to life-long "peace and content". But who was Mary Storrs? My cousin, Gervase Ford of Leeds, sent me recently some family records and among them I found a number of letters copied by his mother, Elizabeth Storrs Walker. These letters are from Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A., and are dated January 26th 1863. From them it appears that one, Samuel Storrs of Sutton, in Nottinghamshire, son of Thomas Storrs of Sutton, near Mansfield, emigrated to America in 1683, and named the Settlement which he founded in Connecticut "Mansfield". All the bearers of the name in America trace their descent to him, and they all hold a family tradition that they are descended from a Philip du Storrs who came to England with the Conqueror in 1066 and was Provider or Taster or Keeper of Stores to the King. Some of these American Storrs came to England in the 1870's, traced their ancestors to the district between Mansfield and Sheffield, and made enquiries of the Herald's Office in England, which confirmed the tradition "All of the name of Storrs are descended from Philip du Storrs who came to England with the Conqueror." The estate of Storrs Hall, near Windermere in Lancashire, was held by the family for centuries, but has died out. However, the evidence seems clear that a branch migrated to Nottinghamshire. The American visitors found a tablet in the church at Sutton, near Mansfield, to the memory of Cordell Storrs, 1698. This name, in the form "Cordial Storrs" re-appears in the Connecticut family several times. Elizabeth Storrs Walker adds a pedigree showing her descent from a Cordell Storrs. His son, William Storrs of Chesterfield, born in 1638, must have become a convert to Quakerism. He had several children - a son, Joseph Storrs, born 1670, whose daughter Mary, born 1703, married John Fry of Sutton Benger in 1726; and another son, John Storrs, is the ancestor of Elizabeth Storrs Ford (nee Walker). So Mary, in her quiet home in Wiltshire, could claim an interesting descent, and handed on the names of her father, Joseph, for four generations. Four sons were born to John and Mary Fry between 1728 and 1737. It is sad to relate that the happiness they anticipated was, it seems, not fully achieved. Generation 8 (con't) John Fry laboured in the unpaid ministry of the Society of Friends, and he must have taken an active part in its business for he was four times Clerk to London Yearly Meeting, in 1746, 1751 and 1756. The yearly meting, which has been held in London each year for some 250 years, is the highest authority in the Society - representing all the "particular" meetings; but also attended by any members who wish to be present. The Clerk is both Chairman and Secretary. No vote is ever taken but the Clerk sums up the "sense of the meeting" in minutes which he reads aloud. They are not recorded till it is clear they accord with the "weight" of the meeting - a slow but very effective manner of conducting business. The Clerk must obviously be a person of exceptional ability. John Fry would have rejoiced to know that his great, great grandson, Joseph Storrs Fry (1826-1913), held the office thirteen times - a longer record than that of any Friend in the history of the society. But a poem, dated 1764, speaks of much discouragement:- "Thus having laboured nearly forty years, Yet to the church smalle benefit occure" .. "With peace I can't from labouring refrain, But leave the event and faithful hope to be Till death shall terminate the work and me." The poem is addressed to a friend and he goes on:- "Consider first my inward tribulations My outward trials next and provocations My native heat of temper - how inclined Unto an active, lively, busy mind. Each soul knows best its inward bitterness And sees the cause of all its own distress." In the second half of the 18th Century the Society of Friends was affected by the prevalent dryness of religious thought, numbers were falling, few new converts were made. Many were influenced by the deism of the day, and those who were faithful were, for the most part, quietists, whose religion was a personal matter, not to be spoken of, while they laid stress on outward customs, peculiarities of dress, language and behaviour. The enthusiasm of the 17th Century had died out. It seems possible that John Fry's lively mind inclined him to doubt. He himself described his ministry as giving advice, cautions, information. I have found in his verses no allusions to Christ, the Evangelical revival which was to transform the Society in the 19th Century was not yet. One source of disappointment was that three of his four sons moved to London or Bristol, cities "where I could no freedom find nor there reside with any peace of mind." Of Joseph, the oldest, I will write fully. William Storrs, the second son, born in 1736, went to London, became and Tea and Spice merchant and banker, with great warehouses in Mildred Court in the city, and, before his elder son. Joseph, married Elizabeth Gurney of Earlham in 1800, had moved to Plashot, the beautiful estate in West Ham which was, on his death, to become the home of Joseph and Elizabeth Fry. It is now built over. The youngest son, Cornelius, was in business in Bristol, I believe in Mary-le-Port Street. Daughters of his married into the Ash and Ball families. Their father was not able to enjoy their successful careers. In a poem "to his Children written in the 75th year of his age" (they were then almost in middle age) he warns them against the World, the Flesh and the Devil, dwelling in neat verse on each, and then goes on:- "There is another danger often near .. Which is (I doubt) you are too much employed In commerce, for true peace to be enjoyed." Generation 8 (con't) After an earnest exhortation to the religious life, "Tis God alone who gives an inward sense of all our daily wants" - "For if luke-warmness over us prevail The vitals of religion soon will fail." He goes on:- "Let all your acts be over understood That your design alone is doing good; And let not your intentions be confined But move with courteous stop to all man-kind From foolish waste and avarice refrain But give with liberal hand your honest gain, Avoid extremes whenever they appear And in the middle path you'll surely steer." These verses are dated 1775. John Fry died on September 18th of that year, and Mary only survived him till November 17th. There are several references in the poem to that "virtuous and religious wife." In the character of this good man one seems to notice traits which re-appear in his descendants - market business ability, little worldly ambition, a determination to carry out a plan of life which satisfied the conscience, a mind rather analitical than constructive, and a self criticism which led to a dislike of notoriety. He speaks of "a natural heat of temper", but his was perhaps not incompatible with an emotional coolness and inability to experience emotional piety or to convey it to others. There is a 17th Century oak linen chest in our possession which once stood in the Sutton Benger home. John and Mary's son Joseph Fry, was born on June 16th 1728 at Sutton Benger. He was apprenticed to Henry Portsmouth, M.D. of Basingstoke, but did not proceed to Edinburgh as so many 18th Century Quakers did, to take his Degree, as it was the only University which did not impose a religious test on its members. Perhaps John Fry's modest means prevented a University education for this able son. Henry Portsmouth, whom a surviving common-place book shows to have been a most systematic reader, had two daughters - the older, Anna, became the wife of Joseph Fry. Of the younger I came across this story. James Logan, a young school-master who went with William Penn from Bristol to Pennsylvania as his secretary in 1698 and eventually became Deputy Governor of the Colony, had a grandson, William, who was sent to England to study under Henry Portsmouth at Basingstoke. This youth made what is described as "a run-away match" with the doctor's younger daughter. It is recorded in the Journal of John Woolman, the Quaker Saint, that in 1772, when he was voyaging from America to England, he went from the steerage to the cabin during a violent storm to calm the terror of the cabin passengers. Among them was a young widow travelling home to England with her baby. She was Anna Fry's sister. Her son, William Portsmouth Logan, grew up in England but died as a young man. There is, in Philadelphia, a number of letters from Joseph and Anna Fry in the possession of a solicitor, William Logan Fox. The Logan replies must, I think, once have been at Union Street. Mr Fox wrote to me asking for information about them, but I failed to obtain it. At the conclusion of his apprenticeship, about 1750, Joseph Fry set up as an apothecary in Small Street, Bristol. He would be about 22. He was admitted a Freeman of the city in 1753. He was generally called Dr Fry, as apothecaries often were in the 18th Century, "and his affable and courteous manner and sound Christian principles soon secured him a large practice among the highest class of his fellow citizens." Dr Arthur Raistrick, of King's College, Newcastle, in his recent book "Quakers in Science and Industry" describes Joseph Fry as a typical Friend of the period, with scholarly interests and Generation 8 (con't) alert mind which linked him with many industrial interests in and around his home town - chocolate, type-founding, china, soap boiling and chemical production. He married Anna Portsmouth about 1754. A friend sent me lately a cutting from a Bristol newspaper of 1778. Anna had sent to it a rhyme about Friends at the Friars Meeting House, beginning - "Fire, fire, cried Sammy Dyer, Where, where quoth Jacob Player", and so on, rhyming on some dozen names. It suggests a cheerful authoress. Joseph Fry is stated to have been a good chemist for his day and this knowledge served him in his various ventures of chocolate making, which dates from his purchase of Churchman's patent, and grew out of his chocolate making for his patients, and in the soap boiling business. A note in Dr Raistrick's book indicates that in 1761 the Frys were living in Narrow Wine Street and that he, a man not yet 40, was already in partnership with Alderman Fripp in the soap boiling firm of "Fry, Fripp & Co.", a firm which passed into the hands of Christopher Thomas and finally, in the 20th Century, into that of Levers. His partnership with Richard Champion - then a Quaker - was not of long duration. The Bristol China works only ran for a few years. Perhaps when it was wound up the remaining stock was distributed among the partners. Joseph's grandson, Francis Fry, had a fine collection of Bristol china, some of which he inherited. I have no note of the date at which he established his chemical works at Battersea.. Perhaps the most interesting of Joseph Fry's many ventures was the Type Founding. He became a partner in the firm of Fry and Pine in Bristol. Pine was also a printer and printed in Bristol four very fine editions of the Bible and Folio and Quarto from their own type. About 1770 the business was removed to London and, after working with another firm, it became "Joseph Fry & Son, Letter Founders to the Prince of Wales." The son was J.F.'s second son, Edmund, who had taken a Medical Degree (presumably at Edinburgh) but did not practise medicine, and became well known as a type founder. He made type for the oriental languages into which the Bible Society was translating the Scriptures in the early 19th Century. I do not know whether the printing firm of his great nephew, John Fry, derived from this. John Fry, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Robert Barclay, invented the method of minute printings on cheques which is so familiar today. Joseph Fry died, after a short illness, in 1787 in his 58th year. His funeral at the Friars Meeting House was very largely attended by his fellow citizens. The Frys were lifelong and loyal members of the Society of Friends. I have two books belonging to them - a copy of William Law's Letters, inscribed "Joseph Fry, Apothecary," and a copy of the Life of Madame Guyon, the 17th Century French mystic, which belonged to Anna Fry when she resided in Berkeley Square. These books suggest that it was the 17th Century mysticism of the first Quakers which interested them. The evangelical revival of the 19th Century was not yet. The large miniature of Anna Fry, dated 1781, when she was about 50, is that of a plain woman with a clever face and good carriage. The silhouette of her husband is that of a plain man, with a large head, high forehead, bob wig, a very prominent thin aquilino nose, curiously full lips and double chin. Joseph and Anna Fry had three sons and four daughters, two of whom died as children, and the youngest a year after her marriage. The only surviving daughter, Sarah, was unmarried and well remembered as my grandfather's loved aunt. When Joseph Fry died in 1787 his two elder sons, Henry and Edmund, were over 30 and already established in London. His youngest son, Joseph Storrs Fry, was only 20 and the Bristol business descended to him. He went into partnership with his mother, and the firm was "Anna Fry & Son" till 1795. In the following section I shall say something of this life of my great grandfather, principally recording some family tradition Generation 8 (con't) about him. In the small portrait of him by Branwhite it is not easy to trace any resemblance to either of his parents. The large, somewhat round forehead surrounded by neat silver-grey hair, the well set, large grey eyes, the straight nose and small delicate mouth and chin, certainly descended to some of his grand-children. My mother writes of him - "He was a very clever man - kind - hospitable and generous. He had a good deal of humour and enjoyed a droll story. Though so kind, I believe he made people, who were not pretty quick-witted, afraid of him. He had an original mind and was very unconventional in thought and action." My mother goes on to describe his religious attitude. He was much attracted to the Evangelical aspect of Christian doctrine, though remaining a convinced Quaker. Records of his last days "give the impression of a man of a very independent and real character, who disliked any sort of forced sentiment - who would have been the last to force his thoughts and words into any conventional channel." He inherited the business capacity of his father. In the letter addressed to the Secretary of the Royal Society of Arts, which I have already quoted, he speaks of having resided at Bolingbroke House, Battersea. He must have been sent there as a boy to learn chemistry at his father's Chemical works in Battersea. He writes in 1792, when he was 25, enquiring whether the Society continues their premium for the improvement of Cranes for Wharves. "I have a plan which I should have put in practice before this time but my various engagements have prevented. I have no doubt but it will answer every aim of the Society. I believe the cranes on our wharves are as perfect as any in the country - but they have no contrivance to shift their powers, of course they are nearly as long raising five cwt as fifty." Directory: Archives Archives -> PriceWaterhouseCoopers Archive 148 linear feet in 98 record cartons and 4 flat boxes. Biography/History Archives -> In this issue Archives -> - Archives -> Contents Subgroup I. Photographs 2 Subgroup II. Artwork 72 Archives -> In this issue Archives -> School Name: Agape’ Christian Academy Class Archives -> A. general information Archives -> Johnny O'Connell Biography Archives -> April 13, 2009 The Digest Archives -> School Name: Pembroke Pines Charter Class Download 3.6 Mb. Share with your friends:
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