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FROM CAROLYN COOPER
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Comments from
Carolyn - I am looking for anything about Samuel Fry, born abt 1815,
wife Mary Latham, who lived in Belfast, Victoria, Australia. They had 5
children, maybe 6, my great grandmother, Annie, being one of his children.
Annie married Henry McClure. I can't find anything about her dad, Samuel,
or her mother Mary, and I think Samuels father was Thomas Fry. If anyone
can help please
contact me. |
FROM DAVID FRY
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Comments from David Fry - "Giday Cobber", I always thought that we Fry's were a rare breed. How wrong I was
as "the web" is suggesting to me that are untold millions of us. My great
great grandparents were born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and migrated to New
Zealand in 1841 where we have bred like rabbits ever since. Cheers, David Fry. |
FROM JIM FRY
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Comments from Jim Fry - My
brother was looking for clues about our family history and came across
your very interesting site. Our interest in West Farleigh is that our
great grandfather, William Fry, was born there around 1846. This showed in
the 1881 census, however his dwelling was at 46 Wood St., Brompton, and
his occupation was listed as publican. I tried to follow this up but seem
to have lost my way, I wonder if any one in the village can throw any
light on this. I would be very grateful, kind regards,
Jim Fry.
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FROM ADRIAN FURMINGER
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FRY/FURMINGER - It is my belief that Sarah Furminger is connected to
Richard Furminger, b. 1750, and his wife Catherine TRILL who married in
1777 at Aylesford. Richard was one of 5 children:- 1) John, b. 1738
2) Francis, b. 1742
3) Susan, b. 1745
4) Thomas, b. 1747
5) Richard, b. 1750.
Their parents were John, b. 1708, & Elizabeth. This Furminger family were
mainly from around Aylesford and later Maidstone, so seem the most likely
group. I do have a little more info on the line, so if anyone connected to
them is interested feel free to
contact me.
Unfortunately they do not seem to be related to my family. |
FROM JOHN MAYSTON
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John says:- "Although my surname is MAYSTON I have researched my
background and my Grandmother Dorothy Parker married a Percy Mayston.
Prior to marrying she was pregnant and had a baby boy (my Father), Jack
Charles, to a matelot called CHARLES FRY who was posted overseas.
She had the baby and it was kept within the family and bought up in the
PARKER household, (My Grandmothers maiden and family name). They lived in
or near Farnham in England.
Probably a coincidence, but I was just wondering if Charles Fry was a
matelot at the time of him being posted overseas in 1924?
If I can connect Charles Fry to Dorothy Parker it would mean that he would
be my fathers' biological Father which would of course make him my
biological Grand Father. Can anyone help me on this?"Regards John Mayston |
FROM GEORGE FRY
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George says he has just had contact with Alec and Adrian Furminger re
Thomas FRY, b. 1770, married 13/10/1794, in Nettlestead to Sarah FURMINGER b.
17??, West Farleigh. Further details are being exchanged. George Fry is
researching FRY, HOOK, MANN, LOVEGROVE, TESTER, CLARK, BENNETT, WHEELER,
MOORE in the Surrey area and FRY, HOOK & TESTER in Kent.
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ALEC FRY
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Comments from Alec Fry:-
I was interested to read of your research into the family history of
the Fry family of West Farleigh. As far as I can see there is no close
connection with my own family, but I would just like to say - in case
others are attracted to your page following a search on the name FRY
- that I am researching the ancestors of my great, great grandfather
Thomas Henry Fry, born 1842, who married Harriet Adney in 1874
and settled in Islington. If anyone is interested please contact me on
01730 893832.
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A VISIT TO THE HOMELAND
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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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GENERAL
If anyone else would like to
start tracing their family history in West Farleigh and use the website to
aid collecting data then please contact me
and I will add your queries to this page, plus any links to your family
website.
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