Fry family (chocolate)

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This Fry family was prominent in England, especially Bristol, in the Society of Friends, and in the confectionery business in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries under the company name J. S. Fry & Sons. They intermarried with many of the other prominent Quaker families and were involved in business and social and philanthropic causes.

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The start of the Bristol family

Joseph Fry (1728–1787), a Quaker, was apprenticed to Henry Portsmouth of Basingstoke as an apothecary and doctor. He married Portsmouth's daughter, Anna (1719/20–1803). Joseph Fry founded a chocolate company called Fry, Vaughan & Co. in Bristol. He also founded Fry and Pine, later Joseph Fry & Co., a typefoundry continued by his middle son Edmund Fry (1757–1835) [1] and renamed Edmund Fry & Co.

In the 1850s, Englishman Joseph Fry invented the world's first solid chocolate. Joseph Fry.jpg
In the 1850s, Englishman Joseph Fry invented the world's first solid chocolate.

After Joseph Fry's death in 1787 his wife, Anna, took over the chocolate company and it was renamed Anna Fry & Son. The son was the first Joseph Storrs Fry (1769–1835) who, after his mother's death in 1803, renamed the firm J. S. Fry & Sons under which name it became quite well known. Joseph Storrs Fry was the first to introduce factory methods into the making of chocolate and the first to use a Watt's steam engine to grind the beans.

The three sons of Joseph Storrs Fry and his wife Ann Allen (1764?–1829), all of whom later became partners in the firm, are Joseph Fry (1795–1879), Francis Fry (1803–1886), [3] and Richard Fry (d.1878).

Francis Fry (1803–1886)

Francis Fry was the son of Joseph Storrs Fry and his wife Ann Allen. Besides the directorship of the chocolate firm, he was also involved in porcelain, typefounding, the Bristol Waterworks where he was a director, and railways (including the Bristol and Gloucester Railway). He was also a well known collector of old Bibles. He headed the firm when it started producing the first chocolate bars in 1847.

He married Matilda Penrose (circa 1808–1888). They had four sons and three daughters including:

Francis James Fry (1835–1918) and his family

F.J. Fry was the son of Francis Fry (1803–1886). He was Sheriff of Bristol in 1887. He married twice and had two daughters and four sons. [4]

Blue Plaque for Norah Cooke-Hurle in Brislington. Norahcooke-hurleblueplaque.JPG
Blue Plaque for Norah Cooke-Hurle in Brislington.

His daughter, Norah Cooke-Hurle born Fry (1871–1960), was an advocate of better services for people with learning difficulties. [5] In 1988, the University of Bristol named their new research centre after Norah Fry, because she did so much for people with learning difficulties.

One of his sons was Geoffrey Storrs Fry (1888–1960), from 1929, the first (and last) Baronet Fry of Oare in Wiltshire. He was private secretary to Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin. He married Alathea Gardner, the second daughter of Lord Burghclere. [6] [7] [8]

Theodore Fry and his family

Theodore Fry (1836–1912), was the son of Francis Fry (1803–1886). He was Liberal MP for Darlington and made baronet. His wife, Sophia Fry née Pease (1837–1897) was a prominent philanthropist and political activist. [9] Their son, John Pease Fry (1864–1957), [10] the second baronet, became Chairman and managing director of Bearpark Coal & Coke of Durham.

Joseph Fry and his family

Joseph Fry (1795–1879), [11] son of the first Joseph Storrs Fry (1769–1835), and Mary Anne Swaine (1797–1886) [12] were the parents of:

and three other daughters, one of whom died in infancy. [16]

Other members of the family

Sources

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References

  1. See DNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2015 accessed 25 10 2015.
  2. "Chocolate History: Who Invented Chocolate?", Chocolate University, retrieved 15 August 2018
  3. ODNB article by David J. Hall, ‘Fry, Francis (1803–1886)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 13 Sept 2007.
  4. F.J. Fry entry in Who was Who.
  5. University of Bristol Norah Fry Research Centre: Brief biography of Norah Cooke-Hurle
  6. G.S. Fry's entry in Who was Who.
  7. The Times, Saturday, 15 October 1960; pg. 8; Issue 54903; col G: Obituary Sir Geoffrey Fry.
  8. The Times, Friday, 28 May 1915; pg. 11; Issue 40866; col C: Forthcoming marriages.
  9. Times obituary of Theodore Fry is at Durham Mining Museum website.
  10. J.P. Fry entry in Who was Who.
  11. Note: he was not the Joseph Fry (1777–1861), who was husband of Elizabeth Fry
  12. The Biographical dictionary of British Quakers in commerce and industry, 1775-1920, by Edward H. Milligan, Sessions of York (2007) ISBN   978-1-85072-367-7. p191: article on Joseph Fry (1795-1879).
  13. See ODNB article by Jonathan Brown, ‘Fowler, John (1826–1864)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007 , accessed 15 Sept 2007.
  14. "Obituary of Albert Fry". "The Times" (37063): 10. 24 April 1903.
  15. The Library of the University of Bristol, 1876-1975 by Nicholas Lee at http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/about/what/libraries/libraryhistory-lee.doc accessed 15 Sept 2007.
  16. 1 2 3 The Biographical dictionary of British Quakers in commerce and industry, 1775-1920, by Edward H Milligan, Sessions of York (2007) ISBN   978-1-85072-367-7. pp.190B-191A.
  17. John B. Thomas, ‘Pease, Marian Fry (1859–1954)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 26 May 2014
  18. Lewis Fry entry in Who was Who
  19. C.R. Fry entry in Who was Who.
  20. See common ancestor John Fry (1701 - 1775) click on "Descendants".