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Joseph Fry

Joseph Fry

Male 1777 - 1861  (84 years)    Has 19 ancestors and 37 descendants in this family tree.

Personal Information    |    Notes    |    All

  • Name Joseph Fry 
    Birth 21 Apr 1777 
    Gender Male 
    Death 28 Aug 1861 
    Siblings 1 Sibling 
    Person ID I28262  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 26 Mar 2009 

    Father William Storrs Fry,   b. 1736   d. 1808 (Age 72 years) 
    Mother Elizabeth Lambert   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F11759  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elizabeth Gurney,   b. 21 May 1780   d. 12 Oct 1845 (Age 65 years) 
    Marriage 19 Aug 1800 
    Children 
     1. Catherine Fry,   b. 22 Aug 1801   d. 1886 (Age 84 years)
     2. Rachel Elizabeth Fry,   b. 25 Mar 1803   d. 1888 (Age 84 years)
    +3. John Gurney Fry,   b. Jul 1804   d. 11 Jun 1872, Southend, , Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 67 years)
     4. William Storrs Fry,   b. 1 Jun 1806   d. 1844 (Age 37 years)
     5. Richenda Fry,   b. 18 Feb 1808   d. 1884 (Age 75 years)
     6. Joseph Fry,   b. 20 Sep 1809   d. 1896 (Age 86 years)
     7. Elizabeth Fry,   b. Feb 1811   d. 1815 (Age 3 years)
     8. Hannah Fry,   b. 1812   d. Yes, date unknown
     9. Louisa Fry,   b. 1814   d. 1896 (Age 82 years)
     10. Samuel Fry,   b. 1816   d. Yes, date unknown
     11. Daniel Fry,   b. Oct 1822   d. 1892 (Age 69 years)
    Family ID F11760  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 7 Oct 2006 

  • Notes 
    • youngest of the three sons

      The brothers, Joseph and William Fry (l768-1858) joined the family business.
      However, their mother is credited with "the financial acumen which had enabled money both to be acquired and prudently managed: it was a quality which perhaps neither of the sons inherited".
      During the 1812 financial panic in the City of London, William Fry, precipitated a crisis, by lending a large amount of the bank's money to his wife's family, undermining its solvency. It was Joseph's wife, with her Gurney financial grasp and her connections, who pulled things through; her brother John Gurney (1781-1814), brother-in-law Samuel Hoare III (1783-1847) and cousin Hudson Gurney (1775- 1864) came to inspect the firm's accounts and, left her in no doubt that they would do "what is needful for us" which, meant a large investment in the W.S.Fry & Sons bank.
      During the 1825 City financial crisis, Elizabeth Fry's relations saved the firm from bankruptcy. When the same problems recurred in 1828, no further Gurney support was offered and on 21 November, W.S. Fry closed.
      The Gurneys acted as receivers and saved the tea merchant business, placing it under their control with Joseph Fry on a salary of £600 per year.
      Business failure was not tolerated by the Religious Society of Friends. Joseph Fry was disowned by Ratcliff & Barking Monthly Meeting in May 1829: however he was re-instated, with much admonition in 1838.
      When they were first married, they lived "over the shop" in St. Mildred Court , Poultry, City of London. After his father's death in 1808, they moved to the grander Plashet House, East Ham . In 1829, they needed to reduce their expenditure and moved to a smaller house in "The Cedars", Upton Lane . After the death of Joseph's sister, Elizabeth Fry (1779-1844), they moved to her home, Plashet Cottage, East Ham. He lived there until his death on 28 August 1861 .



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