![Henry_Fry_merchant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Henry_Fry_merchant.png)
Henry Fry (1826–1896) was a ship-broker, ship owner and commission merchant based in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
. He was
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
agent for the St Lawrence River (Sorel to Gaspe); served as a director of the Quebec Bank (1864–1878), and member then president (1868–1871) of the Board of Trade, VP then President of the
Dominion Board of Trade (1872 and 1873). He was respected for his knowledge of
clipper ships
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...
and commerce, an advocate for limits on excessive deck-lading, which could cause ships to capsize, and against the practice of
crimping. He wrote extensively about 19th century North Atlantic shipping, safety issues, navigation and trade.
Early life
Fry was born on 5 June 1826 in St Stephen's Parish,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Gloucestershire, England, the eldest son of the second marriage of George Fry (1783–1868) of Bristol, England, and Charlotte Augusta Goss (1801–1876).
He grew up close to the sea and, by his own account, had an innate "love of ships and everything connected with them." He left school, age 12 (1838), about the time that his father, a butcher/provisioner with local shipping interests, was in bankruptcy. He apprenticed in the Bristol shipping brokerage firm of Mark Whitwill and, by age 19, was conducting business for Whitwill's in Wales and London.
Career
In 1851, he became a partner in Whitwell's. In 1853–54, Whitwill's sent him to oversee the salvaging of 2 ships in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Arriving via New York City after a troubled 40-day trans-Atlantic voyage aboard a barque named ''Cosmo'', he travelled by land to Quebec City.
The quality of his work was recognized by Lloyd's of London. In 1855, he acquired part interest in his first ship, ''Ant'', eventually buying out his partners. By 1856, he had severed his connection with Whitwill's and established himself as a broker, ship owner, and commission merchant in Quebec City. In 1857, Fry was appointed Lloyd's agent for the
St Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
from
Sorel to
Gaspe. He arranged for salvage of ships; bought and sold many ships in his lifetime establishing a long and profitable relationship with the Quebec shipbuilding industry, notably with Henry Dinning and the firm of Henry Warner & Lauchlin McKay. He commissioned the building of ships at Quebec for the North Atlantic and world trade including the ''Mary Fry'' (launched May 1861, named after his wife), the ''Rock City'' (1868), and the renowned ''Cosmo'' (1877) "said to be the finest Quebec-built ship."
Among the ship captains were his uncle, William Holmes Fry (1782–1866) and his brothers: Alfred Fry (c.1828–?), Charles Fry (1832–1905, master of the ''Mary Fry''), Samuel Holmes Fry (1833–?), and Frederick Fry (c.1840–?). Another brother, Edward Carey Fry (1842–1918), became accountant and merchant in Henry Fry & Co, Quebec City.
Marriage
On 9 December 1858, Montreal (Methodist St James), Henry married Mary Jane Dawson (1836–1932).
His sister, Lucy Ann Fry (1837–1910) from Bristol attended the wedding. His bride was the daughter of Benjamin Dawson (1804–1892), bookseller of Montreal, and Elizabeth Gardener (1798–1867). They had one daughter Mary (Mame) Dawson Fry (1860–1896) and six sons: Henry Fry (1862–1925), William Marsh Fry (1864–1901), Arthur Dawson Fry (1866–1960), Alfred Gardner Fry (1868–1925), Frederick Morley Fry (1870–1936), and Ernest John Fry (1873–1936).
Quebec
Fry served on many business and community boards in Quebec City related to trade, education, the Baptist Church, and public services, including as an assessor for the
Quebec Vice-Admiralty Court, a director of the
Quebec Bank
Quebec Bank was founded on June 9, 1818 to meet a perceived need by some merchants and residents of Quebec City. They wanted an alternative to the newly founded Bank of Montreal which they felt was inadequate for the needs of the province.
The ba ...
1864–78, a trustee of the
Quebec High School
Quebec High School (QHS) is a high school belonging to the Central Quebec School Board. The School is located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and is one of three English-language high schools that serve the Quebec city region (the others being S ...
1866–77, treasurer of the
Quebec Literary & Historical Society, president of the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
1870–78 and committee member of the
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
1875–77, treasurer of the Baptist Church 1875–77 and of the Quebec City Mission 1870–77.
In his lifetime, he crossed the Atlantic 37 times, owned outright or had interests in more than 19 sailing ships. An over-achiever, he suffered from periodic mood swings and
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
.
In his retirement years, he wrote and published several works on steam ships, shipping and North Atlantic navigation as well as treatises illustrated with his meticulous drawings of ships, and memoirs, including ''Essays'' and ''Reminiscences''.
Death
He died in his 70th year on 27 February 1896 in
Sweetsburg, Quebec
Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 15,234.
In recent years ...
, (part of Cowansville). Burial took place 2 March 1896 at
Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...
-1601 Montreal, Quebec. His wife, Mary, survived him by 36 years; she died in Montreal on 10 April 1932.
References
Sources
* Avison-Fry Family Tree (Public in Ancestry.ca).
* Fry, Henry. "The Safest Ships Afloat: The safety and comfort of modern ocean travel as illustrated by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company’s Ocean Steamships," ''Canadian Magazine'',
ol 3, no. 2 (June 1894) Toronto: Ontario Pub. Co., 1894. pp 173–181.
* Fry, Henry. ''A Biographical Sketch of Sir N.F. Belleau''. Quebec, 1894.
* Fry, Henry. ''Essays: written for, and affectionately dedicated to, my children''
anuscript July 1889.
* Fry, Henry. ''Lloyd’s: its origin, history and methods''
ookletQuebec, 1895.
* Fry, Henry. Paper on "deck loads & grain cargoes" for the Dominion Board of Trade, 1872;
e-printed in''Nautical Magazine''. 1873.
* Fry, Henry. ''The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation: with some account of early ships and shipowner''. London & New York, S. Low, Marston, 1896.
* Fry, Henry. ''Reminiscences''.
anuscript1891.
* Fry, John. ''A Mind at Sea: Henry Fry and Quebec’s Great Shipbuilding Era''
iography Toronto, Dundurn Press, 2013. (to be published 2013)
* Marcil, Eileen. "Henry Fry." ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 1891-1900'' (Volume XII). Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1966
* Marcil, Eileen. ''The Charley-Man: a history of wooden shipbuilding at Quebec, 1763-1893''. Kingston, Ont., Quarry Press, 1995. 439 p.
* Wallace, Frederick William. ''In the Wake of the Wind-Ships: Notes, Records and Biographies Pertaining to the Square-Rigged Merchant Marine of British North America''. Toronto, Musson, 1927. 282 p.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Henry
1826 births
1896 deaths
Canadian merchants
English emigrants to Canada
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery