Other Fry Sources

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(last update 29 May 2003)

1889: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.
BENTONVILLE
The People's Bank was organized and began business in June, 1888, with a capital stock of $50,000. Its first and present officers are John Smartt, president; I. B. Gilmore, vice-president; F. E. Gilmore, cashier; A. W. Dinsmore, assistant cashier. Board of directors: John Smartt, J. A. C. Blackburn, I. B. Gilmore, A. W. Dinsmore, W. R. Davis, I. R. Hall, W. H. Fry. Stockholders: John Smartt, J. A. C. Blackburn, A. W. Dinsmore D. H. Woods, I. B. Gilmore, George T. Lincoln, E. S. McDaniel, C. A. Blanck, W. R. Davis, James Haney, F. E. Gilmore, J. B. Mayo, W. H. Fry, Leonard West, G. Ambrose, T. A. Woods, I. R. Hall, F. M. Bates, B. F. Dunn, A. W. Taylor, G. H. Moore.

ALMA.
page 548
In general merchandise J. D. James does an average annual business of $120,000, and ships about 3,000 bales of cotton every year; W. R. and S. B. Locke are a large firm in this line; Mc-Kibben & Pape (a branch house), A. C. Seale, G. J. McNeely & Bro., Fry & Ford, McFall & Orme, J. G. Orme & Co. and Mrs. A. B. Sloan also represent that line. The grocery trade is managed by M. L. Wright, R. C. Lytal, A. Broome and J. A. Robertson. W. W. Smith and W. F. Baker control the drug trade. Drs. L. J. Wilson, R. H. Alvis, W. T. Black, J. C. Chaney and W. L. Wynne represent the medical fraternity, while the legal lights are J. P. Byers, W. H. Byers, W. L. Mc-Fall, J. M. Wright and D. B. Locke. Besides the mills of Mr. Bolling and Col. Locke, before mentioned, H. S. Lewers & Co. and J. K. P. Douglass have corn mills and cotton gins near the town. B. F. Thompson, M. C. Bowlden, F. J. Knight and John Richardson are blacksmiths, and R. F. Hamer has a livery and feed stable. The Howell House, by Mrs. S. E. Howell, the [p.548] London Hotel, by the London Bros., and the McKinney House, by Mrs. M. E. McKinney, are the homes of the traveling public. S. Wright and M. L. Wright have restaurants, and the ladies of the churches have shown enterprise in establishing ice-cream rooms. B. P. Renfroe deals in insurance. E. R. Lee is express agent. Mr. James, the Lockes, Fry & Ford and L. B. Byars are cotton buyers, and timber is shipped by J. M. Dick. The lumber yard of the Van Buren Planing Mills is managed by Chas. Faber. O. N. Baldwin, L. T. Benton and F. J. Dorshay are builders. Miss Annie Higginbotham manages the millinery department of J. D. James, who also has an implement, wagon and undertaker's department. John London cares for the meat and ice trade, while John Maffitt and Thomas Maxwell deal in hardware and harness, respectively. The barber is H. J. Miller.

ELECTIONS.
page 712
1864–in favor of new constitution, 1,080 votes. Governor: J. Murphy (no opposition), 1,080. Lieut.-governor: C. C. Bliss (no opposition), 1,032. Congress: J. M. Johnson, 903; E. P. Perkins, 132. State senator: R. D. Swindell, 363; C. Milor, 328. Representative: J. R. Smoot, 518; H. L. Holleman, 344; J. W. Spradling, 225; G. W. Sisson, 352; Jacob Snyder, 440. Circuit [p.712] judge: S. Edmondson, 339; A. N. Hargrove, 384; I. Groves, 131; Thomas Pounds, 61. Prosecuting attorney: L. J. Barnes, 161; M. J. Leonard, 225; J. R. Steel, 142; – Williamson, 17. County judge: John Howard, 689; V. Dell, 189. County clerk: W. H. Lewis, 414; A. Hammersly, 110; L. Gee, 315. Sheriff: John H. Weir, 374; V. V. Milor, 409; A. J. Fry, 142. Coroner; M. J. Watts, 395; J. Holleman, 355; Ed. Murphy, 388; J. H. McClure, 384. Treasurer: A. J. Sleighton, 623; J. D. Treadway, 116.

RELIGION.
page 789
The fourth session of the conference was held at Fayetteville, beginning on February 3, 1876, and to the Fayetteville District the appointments were made as follows: Fayetteville Union, W. H. Gillam; Fayetteville (second charge), T. H. Nonally; Fayetteville Circuit, M. S. Hyde and L. W. Elkins; Bentonville, W. J. Simmons; Huntsville, J. M. Kimes; Ozark, R. C. Moter; Van-Buren. [p.789] W. H. Crawford; Fort Smith, R. W. Hammett; Greenwood and Grand Prairie, C. D. Fry. The fifth session of the conference was held at Fort Smith in February, 1877, Bishop Wiley presiding. At this session the State was re-districted, and the territory formerly embraced in the Fayetteville District was divided between Fort Smith and Harrison District. Among the appointments in the Fort Smith District were T. B. Ford, P. E.; R. W. Hammett, Fort Smith Station; W. H. Crawford, Van Buren; C. D. Fry, Ozark; L. C. Obar, Charleston; G. W. Hood, Witcherville. On the Harrison District O. R. Bryant was presiding elder, while J. M. McCoy was assigned to the Fayetteville Union, Henry Flood to Huntsville, and L. W. Elkins to Cincinnati. The sixth session of the conference was held at Little Rock during the last week in January, 1878, when the membership on the circuit in Northwestern Arkansas was reported as follows: Fayetteville Station (two charges), 90 members, 12 probationers; Fayetteville Circuit, 90 members, 10 probationers; Cincinnati Circuit, 81 members, 35 probationers; Huntsville Circuit. 120 members, 10 probationers; Fort Smith Charge, 90 members; Witcherville Circuit, 173 members, 23 probationers; Charleston Circuit, 52 members, 17 probationers; Ozark Circuit, 100 members, 19 probationers, and Van Buren Circuit. 77 members and 27 probationers. At this session Arkansas Conference was divided on the following lines: “Beginning at Ultima Thule, on the State line, and running thence through Locksburgh, Epperson's Mill, Caddo Gap, Hot Springs, Lewisburg, Batesville, Pocahontas, and thence north to the Missouri line.” The work west of this line was designated Arkansas Conference. that east of it Little Rock Conference. The Arkansas Conference was divided into two districts. Harrison District, to which O. R. Bryant was assigned as presiding elder, and Fort Smith, to which was assigned Thomas B. Ford. In the Harrison District Jesse P. Lowry was appointed to the Harrison Circuit, R. W. Hammett to Fayetteville, Burrell D. Jones to Huntsville, and James Lokey to Cincinnati, and in the Fort Smith District, Graham W. Hood to Fort Smith, George E. Cunningham to Alma and Van Buren, and James W. Shinn to Ozark, L. C. Obar to Bloomer, William J. Simmons to Dayton.

BENTON COUNTY
William H. Fry was born in Schuylkill County, Penn., in 1850, and is a son of Henry and Rebecca Van Reed (High) Fry, and grandson of Conrad Fry. Henry Fry was born in Dauphin County, Penn., in 1823, and was there reared and married. About 1848 he began merchandising at Pottsville, Penn., and afterward followed the same calling at Reading, and at the same time was engaged in oil refining and in the milling business. He was a very successful business man, and died in 1872. The last four years of his life he was unable to carry on an extensive business, owing to ill health. His wife was born in Berks County, Penn., in 1827, and is yet living. William H. Fry is the eldest of her five children. He was educated at Reading, and at the Tremont Seminary, at Norristown, Penn., the Kutztown Normal, and took a course in the Commercial Business College at Philadelphia. He clerked in a store in Reading for one year, and in 1873 went to Larned, Kas., where he was engaged in merchandising for five years. Owing to ill health he then abandoned the business and purchased a farm of 400 acres near the town, but sold out in 1887, and came to Benton County, and purchased 102 acres of land east of Bentonville, where he has since made his home. His farm is in a very fine state of cultivation, and he is doing well. In June, 1887, he became a director and stockholder of the People's Bank, at Bentonville, and still retains that position. He is a Republican in politics and his first presidential vote was cast for Grant. He is a Knight Templar Mason. In 1877, he was married to Miss Posie Bowman, a daughter of Jacob and Letitia (Fry) Bowman. Mrs. Fry was born in Greene County, Ill., in 1855, and is the mother of three children: Clara M., Harry R. and Alice B.

CARROLL COUNTY
Philip B. Fry is a Tennesseean, who was born in Polk County December 4, 1839, and is a son of Harvey and Anna (Cate) Fry, both natives of McMinn County, Tenn. The parents were married in their native county, and afterward located in Polk County among the Indians. It was four years before the Indians were removed from the county. There Harvey Fry spent the remainder of his life. He improved a farm, which he cultivated, and operated a large flouring mill. For one or more terms he held the office of trustee of the county. His death occurred in 1881, and his wife's in the spring of 1888. P. B. Fry grew to manhood at his father's home, and in the spring of 1862 enlisted in the Confederate army. Joining the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry under Col. McKinzy, he, with the exception of six months, served with that regiment as second sergeant until the war closed, and participated in the battles of Perryville, Missionary Ridge, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, and those around Atlanta. Once while at home he was taken prisoner, but made his escape. At the close of the war his regiment was paroled at Greensboro, N. C., after which Mr. Fry returned to his home in Tennessee and engaged in farming. In the spring of 1864 he was married in Polk County, Tenn., to Elizabeth Taylor, a native of the county and a daughter of James Taylor. In the fall of 1867 he sold his farm in Tennessee and came to Arkansas. For awhile he rented land, but in 1869 he purchased the farm on which he now resides, which at that time was nothing more than a small clearing with a few improvements. The farm now contains 360 acres, with 150 under cultivation, with good improvements, and upon which is an orchard of over 600 fine fruit trees. Politically Mr. Fry endorses and supports the principles of the Democratic party. He and wife have a family of six children, viz.: William H., Julia B., Emma M., Lou Ann, John R. and Elizabeth.

SEBASTIAN COUNTY
page 1334
Thomas J. Kersey (deceased) was one of the oldest and most highly esteemed citizens of Sebastian County, Ark., and was born in Davidson County, Tenn., [p.1334] in 1819. At an early day he came to the State of Arkansas and settled in Logan County, where he was married to Peggy A. Shelby, who afterward died, having borne two children: Jane, widow of L. Gee, and George Huston, who was eighteen years old at the time of his death. In 1847 Mr. Kersey was married to Mary Ann Williford, who was born in Montgomery County. Ill., the daughter of Jordan and Sarah J. Williford. Mrs. Kersey came to Arkansas when only thirteen years old, and was married to Thomas Kersey at the age of fifteen. She is the mother of fifteen children, only four of whom lived to be grown Amanda V., who married, during the war. Mr. A. J. Fry, and was the mother of six children, four boys of whom are living, Grant, Charles, Baty and Mathew; the two youngest are living with their Grandma Kersey, their mother having died when the youngest, Mathew, was only one year old; Baty, who is now thirteen years of age, has lived with his Grandpa since last May, his father having died; the other two are grown. The next child of Thomas Kersey, a son. I. N. Kersey, died when twenty-one years of age; he was an excellent young man in every way, and was much beloved by all who knew him: he was a student of Cane Hill College, Washington County, Ark., and would have graduated the spring he died. A daughter, Mollie, was married very young to Dr. N. D. Woods, Jr.; she is the mother of four children: Mary E., Susie, George Newton and Annie Tribue, the first and last of whom are living. Georgia is the wife of A. J. Chandler. Of these four children, who lived to maturity, only two are living: Mollie Woods and Georgia Chandler. Thomas J. Kersey made a trip to California in 1849 with the long train of gold seekers, and was absent fifteen months, meeting with good success and returning with a large amount of gold. Soon after coming back his dwelling was set on fire at night during the absence of the family, and a heavy loss sustained. He suffered considerably by fire (having been burned out three times—once losing a hotel), but this only increased his determination to accumulate more property. Mr. Kersey was for many years one of the foremost citizens of Greenwood, and was ever ready to assist all laudable public enterprises, and was largely interested in a dry goods store, and owned a mill in the town. He was known throughout Western Arkansas for his honesty, integrity and liberality, and although uneducated, save by his own exertions, was a man of powerful mind and good judgment. He was successful in all his business enterprises, a man of quick perceptions, and possessed considerable personal magnetism, which drew around him a large circle of friends. He was for many years a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was one of its most liberal supporters. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M., Lodge No. 131, and was buried by the members of his lodge with impressive ceremonies. He commenced life a poor man, but at his death, October 11, 1888, was a large land-holder, and possessed a large amount of personal property. Of keen observation, he absorbed a great deal by travel, and for fifteen months, when a young man, lived in Texas among the Indians. His house was the home of the orphan, and he partly reared five orphan children. Mrs. Kersey has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, since she was thirteen years of age.

2000: Obituary, Herald Democrat, Johnson County, Arkansas, 21 June 2000
Mrs. Margaret Ruth Fry
Mrs. Margaret Ruth White Fry, 62, of Clarksville died Monday, June 12, 2000, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
A daughter of the late John Thomas (J. T.) and Ruth Blackburn White, she was a 1956 graduate of Clarksville High School, 1960 graduate of the University of Arkansas, and held a master of education degree from the University of New Mexico. She was a retired teacher of the Sandia Base Elementary School in Albuquerque, N. M.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church, choir member, and pianist for the Men's Bible Class, member and officer of the First United Methodist Women, past president of P.E.O., Beta Sigma Phi, and Kappa Kappa Iota, lifetime member of the Johnson County Historial Society and the Johnson Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, and a member of the Order of Eastern Star and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Survivors include her husband, Ray Fry; and one daughter, Barbara Ruth Fry of Clarksville.
Funeral was at 2 p.m. Monday, June 19, at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Lowell Eaton, Rev. Aaron Barling and Rev. Frank Clemmons officiating.
Burial was in Oakland Cemetery under the direction of Roller-Cox Funeral Home.
Active pallbearers were Ronnie Ashlock, Robert Ed Farris, Bill Landrum, Harold Lewis, Dr. Richard McDougal, Dr. Powell Smith, and Lee White.
Honorary pallbearers were the Men's Bible Class, Luther (Creepy) Hodge, United Methodist Women, and P.E.O. Chapter Q.