Fry
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Fry Surname Genealogy
Fry started out as a nickname of someone being free, that is not a serf and not belonging to a lord. The root was the Old English frig, meaning "free born." This surname appeared mainly in the west country. Another Old English word free, also meaning "free born," was the derivation of the surname Freeman that was to be found more in East Anglia and the north of England.
Fry in America has a greater likelihood of being German rather than English. The name Frey or Frei - becoming in later generations in America Fry - was first recorded in Germany in the 13th century. As in England, it meant free and reflected a freed status.
England. Thomas le Frye was recorded in the Wiltshire rolls of 1273 and the region of north Wiltshire, around Malmesbury, provided some early sightings of the name. The Fry chocolate family trace their roots to the Wiltshire village of Corston (according to John P. Fry's 1906 book, Pedigree of the Family of Fry). They became Quakers there in the mid-17th century before starting a chocolate factory in Bristol in the mid-18th and establishing a family dynasty of Quakers that extended well into the 20th century.
Other Wiltshire Frys were to be found in sizeable numbers in the nearby villages of Lacock and Castle Combe. One Fry family from Chippenham in Wiltshire emigrated to New Zealand in 1841. Charles and Ann Fry left Taunton in Somerset on the Harry Lorrequer for Australia in 1849. Another Fry family which had farmed in the Somerset village of Rooksbridge from the late 1700's went to Australia in the 1850's.
The Fry name was also long-established in Devon. The oldest line appears to be in Membury near Axminster, where the Frys had become masters of Yarty House in 1406. William Fry of Membury was described in the 1580's as "a man of large possessions and ancient family." These Frys built the Deer Park Mansion near Honiton which stayed in family hands until the end of the 18th century.
By the 19th century, the Fry name had spread a bit across England, but was still to be found mainly in the west country. The five counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Devon accounted for just about half of all the Frys recorded in the Victorian censuses.
America. Early Fry arrivals to New England in the 1630's were John and Anne Frye from Hampshire and George Fry and his wife from Somerset. A later Fry arrival into Virginia. Joshua Fry, made more waves. He married into money in 1737 and set himself up as a mapmaker, surveyor, and a landowner of an 800 acre plantation along the Hardware river. His descendants were early settlers in Kentucky.
However, the greatest Fry immigration - and the largest number of Frys today - was in Pennsylvania. Most were of German stock. Their Frey/Frei names would become Fry after two or three generations. Heinrich Frey reached Philadelphia in 1680 and was believed to be the first German immigrant to that state. Frey was a Swiss Mennonite family name and more Freys began arriving in the early 18th century because of the religious tolerance that William Penn afforded.
Some of these Freys became Amish Mennonite ministers. Others such as Daniel and Catherine Fry who had married in Huntingdon county in 1822 integrated more into mainstream society. Curiously one Frey family, whose forebear was a fifer in the Revolutionary War, changed their name to Fry and then, much later, back to Frey.
Australia. The first Fry to arrive in Australia was a convict, James Fry on the Pursan. He served his sentence in Tasmania and then moved to Jamison, Victoria with his family. Later came Fry settlers, such as:
Select Fry Miscellany
Select Fry Names
Joseph Fry was the forebear of the Fry chocolate family, starting his chocolate factory in Bristol in 1756.
Joshua Fry was a suveyor and mapmaker in 18th century colonial Virginia.
Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker relative to the chocolate Frys, was an early 19th century prison reformer. She is depicted on the back of the English £5 bank note.
Charles Burgess Fry was a larger-than life sportsman, educator, and writer of the Edwardian era.
Stephen Fry is an English comic writer and TV personality.
Select Frys Today
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Index of NamesFry started out as a nickname of someone being free, that is not a serf and not belonging to a lord. The root was the Old English frig, meaning "free born." This surname appeared mainly in the west country. Another Old English word free, also meaning "free born," was the derivation of the surname Freeman that was to be found more in East Anglia and the north of England.
Fry in America has a greater likelihood of being German rather than English. The name Frey or Frei - becoming in later generations in America Fry - was first recorded in Germany in the 13th century. As in England, it meant free and reflected a freed status.
Select Fry Resources on The
Internet
- The Franchay Village Museum. The Fry chocolate family.
- Frys from West Farleigh in Kent. Fry family accounts.
- Fry Family
History. Frys from Somerset to Australia
- Frey/Fry Family in Pennsylvania. Janet's genealogy - descendants of Heinrich Frei.
- Fry Family of Ashland, Ohio.
Fry family archives.
England. Thomas le Frye was recorded in the Wiltshire rolls of 1273 and the region of north Wiltshire, around Malmesbury, provided some early sightings of the name. The Fry chocolate family trace their roots to the Wiltshire village of Corston (according to John P. Fry's 1906 book, Pedigree of the Family of Fry). They became Quakers there in the mid-17th century before starting a chocolate factory in Bristol in the mid-18th and establishing a family dynasty of Quakers that extended well into the 20th century.
Other Wiltshire Frys were to be found in sizeable numbers in the nearby villages of Lacock and Castle Combe. One Fry family from Chippenham in Wiltshire emigrated to New Zealand in 1841. Charles and Ann Fry left Taunton in Somerset on the Harry Lorrequer for Australia in 1849. Another Fry family which had farmed in the Somerset village of Rooksbridge from the late 1700's went to Australia in the 1850's.
The Fry name was also long-established in Devon. The oldest line appears to be in Membury near Axminster, where the Frys had become masters of Yarty House in 1406. William Fry of Membury was described in the 1580's as "a man of large possessions and ancient family." These Frys built the Deer Park Mansion near Honiton which stayed in family hands until the end of the 18th century.
By the 19th century, the Fry name had spread a bit across England, but was still to be found mainly in the west country. The five counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Devon accounted for just about half of all the Frys recorded in the Victorian censuses.
America. Early Fry arrivals to New England in the 1630's were John and Anne Frye from Hampshire and George Fry and his wife from Somerset. A later Fry arrival into Virginia. Joshua Fry, made more waves. He married into money in 1737 and set himself up as a mapmaker, surveyor, and a landowner of an 800 acre plantation along the Hardware river. His descendants were early settlers in Kentucky.
However, the greatest Fry immigration - and the largest number of Frys today - was in Pennsylvania. Most were of German stock. Their Frey/Frei names would become Fry after two or three generations. Heinrich Frey reached Philadelphia in 1680 and was believed to be the first German immigrant to that state. Frey was a Swiss Mennonite family name and more Freys began arriving in the early 18th century because of the religious tolerance that William Penn afforded.
Some of these Freys became Amish Mennonite ministers. Others such as Daniel and Catherine Fry who had married in Huntingdon county in 1822 integrated more into mainstream society. Curiously one Frey family, whose forebear was a fifer in the Revolutionary War, changed their name to Fry and then, much later, back to Frey.
Australia. The first Fry to arrive in Australia was a convict, James Fry on the Pursan. He served his sentence in Tasmania and then moved to Jamison, Victoria with his family. Later came Fry settlers, such as:
- William and Elizabeth Fry from West Farleigh in Kent in 1839
- Francis Fry from Rooksbridge in Somerset in 1850, followed by brother Isaac and his family
- John Brock Fry and his wife Harriet from Broadstairs in Kent in
the 1850's.
Select Fry Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Fry Names
Joseph Fry was the forebear of the Fry chocolate family, starting his chocolate factory in Bristol in 1756.
Joshua Fry was a suveyor and mapmaker in 18th century colonial Virginia.
Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker relative to the chocolate Frys, was an early 19th century prison reformer. She is depicted on the back of the English £5 bank note.
Charles Burgess Fry was a larger-than life sportsman, educator, and writer of the Edwardian era.
Stephen Fry is an English comic writer and TV personality.
Select Frys Today
- 16,000 in the UK (most numerous in Gloucestershire)
- 13,000 in America (most numerous in Pennsylvania)
- 12,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Australia).
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.