1891 Baptism - Mystery of Percy/Peter Fry

[dickiesam]

Filling in an annoying gap......
Looking for the baptism cert for a Peter Fry, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Fry [nee Pierce] at St Brigid's in 1891. Church and year from http://www.liverpoolhistoryprojects.co.uk
This child is believed to have been born and registered in 1887 as Percy Fry!

[Bertieone]

Carrier pigeon being readied, DS.

[dickiesam]

Carrier pigeon being readied, DS.

Bird received and message read! TVM!

Now the next stage... These parents have an unfortunate reputation in my book for being extremely neglectful towards their children. Out of five, three died. Two of them dying within a year of birth. Two 'surviving' children, aged 5 and 8 were found abandoned in Mill Lane and taken into care. The older child died there in 1903. That accounted for all the children except for Percy aka Peter bn 1887 and baptised in 1891. A recent new-found 2nd cousin came up with a family story that Elizabeth Fry nee Pierce was overly fond of the bottle.

The parents disappear from the face of the earth before the 1901 census! And I couldn't find young [or old] Percy aka Peter.... until maybe now...

Passenger: Percy FRY
Date of departure: 26 March 1898
Port of departure: Liverpool
Passenger destination port: Portland, USA
Passenger destination: Portland, USA
Date of Birth: 1887 (calculated from age)
Age: 11
Occupation: Child
Passenger recorded on: Page 1 of manifest
Ship: CARTHAGINIAN

Percy is accompanied by over 20 other young children and two adults, Ellen Douglas and Louisa James. So is this my Percy, having been also abandoned by his parents and shipped off to the colonies? Did he make it to Portland, Maine?

To round off this sad tale is just one bright light! The abandoned 5 year old child actually made it to adulthood via the Olive Mount Cottage Homes, joined the RN, married in 1918 when a Petty Officer and died in London in 1967.

[dickiesam]

Or could this be him, among the Canada-bound child slaves?

Passenger: Percy FRY
Date of departure: 3 June 1909
Port of departure: Liverpool
Passenger destination port: Quebec, Canada
Passenger destination: Quebec, Canada
Marital status: Single
Age: 12 years or more.
Passenger recorded on: Page 6 of 17
Ship: TUNISIAN

[Tina]

Such a sad story about the kiddies but very pleased one made a success of his life.
Is this your Elizabeth Fry 26 married in 1891 listed as dghtr of Thomas Pierce?
RG12/2900/71/14
Marriage St Mary's Kirkdale 1883.
No kiddies in 1891, long time since 83?

[dickiesam]

Such a sad story about the kiddies but very pleased one made a success of his life.
Is this your Elizabeth Fry 26 married in 1891 listed as dghtr of Thomas Pierce?
RG12/2900/71/14

Hi Tina,
Yes, that's Elizabeth, at home with her parents in 1891. Hubby Thomas is at 'home' with his mother Elizabeth and 3 of his sisters including my paternal g.mother Ada, at 5, 2 Court, Commutation Row, Liverpool, a less than salubrious address. RG12 Piece: 2918 Folio: 88 Page: 25.

By the time of the 1891 census the couple had had 3 children one of whom had died. The other two, Percy [bn Dec 1887] and William [bn Jan 1890], have not yet been found on census night.

Joseph, the child that made it through his early years and apparently raised in the Olive Mount Cottage Homes must have been very appreciative of his care there. When he married in 1918 at St Mary's in Wavertree, the officiate was Rev Richard Wilson Jones, Chaplain of the Cottage Homes, and a witness was Robert James Froom, Superintendent of the Homes.

[dickiesam]

Or could this be him, among the Canada-bound child slaves?
Passenger: Percy FRY
Date of departure: 3 June 1909
Port of departure: Liverpool
Passenger destination port: Quebec, Canada
Passenger destination: Quebec, Canada
Age: 12 years or more.
Ship: TUNISIAN

It would appear that this child was sent to Canada from the Liverpool Sheltering Home in Myrtle Street. This home was set up by Annie MacPherson.
From the websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_MacPherson
And http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/data ... fqe9did527

Surname: FRY
Given Name: Percy
Age: 13 With a birth year of 1896, it would appear this is not my Percy.
Ship: Tunisian
Year of Arrival: 1909
Departure Port: Liverpool
Departure Date: 1909-06-04
Arrival Port: Quebec
Arrival Date: 1909-06-12
Party: Annie Macpherson Homes
Destination: Stratford, Ontario
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Reference: RG 76 C1a; Microfilm: T-4761
Type of Record: Passenger Lists

Question: Are the Sheltering Homes records in the Liverpool Record Office or are they held at Liverpool University as part of the Barnardo's archive? See http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mari ... sheetId=12

[dickiesam]

And there's more....
Re:

Passenger: Percy FRY
Date of departure: 26 March 1898
Port of departure: Liverpool
Passenger destination port: Portland, USA
Passenger destination: Portland, USA
Date of Birth: 1887 (calculated from age)
Age: 11
Ship: CARTHAGINIAN

Surname: FRY
Given Name: Percy
Age: 11
Ship: Cartheginian
Year of Arrival: 1898
Departure Port: Liverpool
Departure Date: 1898
Arrival Port: Portland
Arrival Date: 1898
Party: The Sheltering House, Liverpool, England.
Comments: Group of 42 medically examined 22 May 1898 in England.
Source: Library and Archives Canada;
Reference: RG 76 B 1 a, Vol 32, File 724, Part 1, Documents from Immigration Branch, Central Registry Files; Microfilm: C-4690
Type of Record: Other Government of Canada records
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/data ... kesqick7k6

[Bertieone]

Hi DS,

Do you seek Thomas Fry, RG12 P2918 F88 Page25 later than this census or do you have the information.

[Bertieone]

Name:
Thomas Fry
Event Type:
Marriage
Birth Date:
abt 1865
Marriage Date:
9 Oct 1898
Marriage Place:
Dedham, Massachusetts
Marriage Age:
33
Father Name:
John
Mother Name:
Elizabeth Murphy
Spouse Name:
Catharine Curren
Spouse Marriage Age:
30
Spouse Father Name:
William Curren
Spouse Mother Name:
Mary Whalen

On the marriage record he declares this, his first marriage.

[Bertieone]

1900 United States Federal Census
about Thomas Frye
Name:
Thomas Frye
Age:
33
Birth Date:
Jan 1867
Birthplace:
England
Home in 1900:
Boston Ward 11, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Race:
White
Gender:
Male
Immigration Year:
1898
Relation to Head of House:
Head
Marital Status:
Married
Spouse's Name:
Katherine Frye
Marriage Year:
1898
Years Married:
2
Father's Birthplace:
England
Mother's Birthplace:
England
Household Members:
Thomas Frye 33
Katherine Frye 33
Thomas Frye 10/12

[Bertieone]

1910 United States Federal Census
about Thomas J Frys
Name:
Thomas J Frys
[Thomas J Frye]
Age in 1910:
43
Birth Year:
abt 1867
Birthplace:
England
Home in 1910:
Cornish, Sullivan, New Hampshire
Race:
White
Gender:
Male
Immigration Year:
1888
Relation to Head of House:
Head
Marital Status:
Married
Spouse's Name:
Cathrine F Frye
Father's Birthplace:
England
Mother's Birthplace:
England
Household Members:
Thomas J Frys 43
Cathrine F Frye 40
Thomas Frye 10
Harold Frye 6

DS, note Thomas has developed a middle initial (J) his son also appears to use it later on in life, neither are baptised with it, anything in the family you know about, there's a Percy J floating about somewhere, I'll see if I can find him again.
The 1900 census Thomas is a Stableman, 1910, he's a coachman, problem that concerns me is the immigration years 1898 and 1888.

[Bertieone]

The Percy is this one.



1920 United States Federal Census
about Percy J Fry
Name:
Percy J Fry
Age:
31
Birth Year:
abt 1889
Birthplace:
England
Home in 1920:
Detroit Ward 21, Wayne, Michigan
Race:
White
Gender:
Male
Immigration Year:
1910
Relation to Head of House:
Head
Marital Status:
Married
Spouse's Name:
Cristina Fry
Father's Birthplace:
England
Mother's Birthplace:
England
Home Owned:
Own
Able to Read:
Yes
Write
Yes
Name
Percy J Fry 31
Cristina Fry 31

Could do with the Michigan marriage records.

[dickiesam]

Hi DS,

Do you seek Thomas Fry, RG12 P2918 F88 Page25 later than this census or do you have the information.

A brilliant find!
Bertie! I have been seeking him and his wife Elizabeth for years! Couldn't see him or her leaving the country, no deaths, after last mention in 1898 when 2 of his children were taken into care. I knew a son Joseph had been born in 1893 and that was all.

It looks like my Thomas. Too many 'coincidences' not to be him, Yob, parents. Did he skip the country early in the 1890s?

I have to absorb your find slowly because it substantiates a family story that my father had 'cousins' in America. Thomas Fry's sister Ada in the 1891 census is my paternal g.mother. I most definitely owe you one for that.

[dickiesam]

The Percy is this one.
1920 United States Federal Census
about Percy J Fry
Name:
Percy J Fry
Age:
31
Birth Year:
abt 1889
Birthplace:
England
Home in 1920:
Detroit Ward 21, Wayne, Michigan
Race:
White
Gender:
Male
Immigration Year:
1910
Relation to Head of House:
Head
Marital Status:
Married
Spouse's Name:
Cristina Fry
Father's Birthplace:
England
Mother's Birthplace:
England
Home Owned:
Own
Able to Read:
Yes
Write
Yes
Name
Percy J Fry 31
Cristina Fry 31

Could do with the Michigan marriage records.

His age matches so did he cross from Canada into the US in 1910 when he would have been abt 21 after being sent there in 1898? Certainly fits.

[MaryA]

Question: Are the Sheltering Homes records in the Liverpool Record Office or are they held at Liverpool University as part of the Barnardo's archive? See http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mari ... sheetId=12

Could you please email the Record Office and ask this question? If you can get a response on Monday - and I'm thinking they may be in the archives if they have them - I can have a look on Tuesday but may need to place a booking Monday to see them.

[Bertieone]

Drat, DS,

I think he belongs to this family,

RG12 P602 F89 Page3


Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957
about Percy J Fry
Name:
Percy J Fry
Arrival Date:
1 Jan 1913
Age:
24
Birth Date:
abt 1889
Birthplace:
Sutton County Sry
Gender:
Male
Race/Nationality:
English
Port of Arrival:
Detroit, Michigan
Departure Contact:
Brother Edw Fry

[dickiesam]

Re the J in Thomas J Fry...

His father was John who died in 1878 aged 35. Thomas would have been 14 and because John was, according to Thomas' mother Elizabeth Fry, an alcoholic, he would have been witness to some unpleasant scenes as a child. John died in the County Lunatic Asylum at Rainhill. He died from an incurable condition known as Arachnoiditis, an inflammation of the arachnoid membrane that covers the outer surface of the brain. This causes all the symptoms described in his medical record, ie, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, and spastic paralysis of the limbs. I have his medical record and notes on his being admitted.

The notes taken from his wife say John Fry was a cab-man [the horse-drawn kind] and he had suffered several falls from his cab due to drink being taken. A common cause of Arachnoiditis is a blow to the head.

Elizabeth was left with Thomas, the eldest, and 4 surviving daughters one of whom was wheel-chair bound. Elizabeth became a charwoman and died in 1921 following a fall.

[dickiesam]

Question: Are the Sheltering Homes records in the Liverpool Record Office or are they held at Liverpool University as part of the Barnardo's archive? See http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mari ... sheetId=12

Could you please email the Record Office and ask this question? If you can get a response on Monday - and I'm thinking they may be in the archives if they have them - I can have a look on Tuesday but may need to place a booking Monday to see them.

Talk about 'the plot thickens'....
Email sent with the relevant query.
TVM

[dickiesam]

Drat, DS,

I think he belongs to this family,

RG12 P602 F89 Page3

Brother Edw Fry

Drat indeed! But still, substantial progress made today in tracking down the errant parents of Percy, William and Joseph. Thanks for taking up the chase.

So where are you Elizabeth Fry nee Pierce? Did she also leave the country or did she remarry? This EF marriage is Thomas' sister... 1873 - 1958.

FRY, Elizabeth married HOWARD, Edward
Registration district: West Derby
Year of registration: 1899; Jun qtr
Volume no: 8B; Page no: 605