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When
you begin to undertake the task of attempting discovery of your family history
you very quickly realize it is not the easy task it seems unless you have the
support and cooperation of your family. Not
just your immediate family but also your extended family in the hope they have
kept records. I was very fortunate indeed
that I had several distant relatives who did just that and provided me with an
excellent base to begin.
Apart
from my immediate family members I knew that my Grandfather, Albert Arthur Henry
FRY, had a sister living in Melbourne but I was totally unaware he had a further
three brothers and two sisters who lived there too. What a pleasant surprise it was to learn about them and their families
after all this time. The excitement of
learning did not stop there as the discovery of Great Grandparents and Great,
Great Grandparents led me to visit the English, Kent Village of West Farleigh
from where my Australian Branch of the FRY Family had its roots.
William
FRY was born in the Village of West Farleigh to parents Thomas and Sarah (Nee
Furminger) and baptized in the All Saints Church on 25th April 1802. His Mother Sarah was also baptized in the same Church on 13th
September 1772. He had eight brothers and
sisters similarly baptized in the Church between 1779 and 1819. William’s first wife was Eliza GROOMBRIDGE who was baptized in the All
Saints Church on 20th February 1809 and buried there in 1835. His second marriage was to my Great, Great Grandmother, Elizabeth DUNK in
East Barming in 1837.
Under
the ‘bounty system’ of assisted migration to Australia, together they, and
the three children from his marriage to Eliza and their first son, set sail
aboard the William Metcalfe from Plymouth and arrived in Port Phillip on
15th November 1839. They
settled in the Merri Creek/Heidelberg area of Melbourne and began the FRY family
tree as a part of what is today called the Victorian Pioneers of Australia’s
history. They had a further ten children and it was from this base of 14
that the family spread throughout Australia and New Zealand into the many
hundreds on the Tree today.
Having
planned a holiday visit to England with my wife, Kaye, in early September we had
arranged to stay with our dear friends living in Hamstreet, Ashford, Kent. This being ‘only a stones throw away’ from West Farleigh a visit to
the Village was a must do on our agenda. With
the Internet being the wonderful aid it is I found the Village Web Site
developed by Paul BOULTON and was able to contact Parish Clerk, David SWAN. This initial contact has led to several new family contacts and provided
me considerable assistance from many Village people. So it was with a great deal of anticipation and excitement we travelled
to West Farleigh on 6th September 2001.
Our
first impression was: “what a beautiful place, such a lovely green lush
countryside”. Living in Toowoomba,
known as “The Garden City”, because of our Spring Carnival of Flowers, it
was very easy to see why William COBBETT is quoted as saying “the Medway
Valley west of Maidstone the finest in England” on the Web Site. We drove around the Village area taking many photographs to show our
envious relatives back home. We had
prearranged to visit Paul BOULTON and had a delightful visit with him, Fiona and
Matthew.
However,
the most poignant event for me was the visit to All Saints Church. I did not realize how emotional it would be standing where my ancestors
had lived, died and were buried so long ago. With
the help of Dr Peter EVANS I was able to examine the Parish Registers and the
Church itself. I even managed to climb
about three-quarters of the Bell Tower. My
cousin, Christine WOOD, from New South Wales asked me to give the Church a big
hug for the Family which I gladly did and have the photograph to prove it. Paul BOULTON even offered me the job of ‘Village Sign Cleaner’ after
he saw me cleaning it for another photographic record of our visit. Regrettably, because of our limited time available, we could not arrange
another visit or catch-up with David SWAN but I have many fond memories of my
visit to the FRY family’s original homeland.
Following
John Evan’s advice, I managed to organize a visit to the Family History Centre
in Maidstone where I examined several other Parish records resulting in some new
leads to follow. This also included a
visit to the All Saints Church where William and Eliza were married on 25th
December 1829 and their three children baptized in 1830, 1833 and 1835. I shall long remember my visit to West Farleigh Village and it is my
intention to return and spend more time studying and enjoying the homeland area
of my forefathers.
Robert
Norman FRY
(1950-)
Son
of Norman Thomas FRY (1928-1968) & Joyce Esther HEIDENREICH (1930-)
Grandson of Albert Arthur Henry FRY (1900–1989) & Mara Alice
BONIFACE (1904-1956)
Great Grandson of Charles FRY (1858-1924) & Selina LADHAMS
(1865-1942)
Great, Great Grandson of William FRY (1802-1866) & Elizabeth DUNK
(1817-1890)
Great, Great, Great Grandson of Thomas FRY (1771-1857) & Sarah
FURMINGER (1772-1863) both in the Parish Records as buried at All Saints Church,
West Farleigh.
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