Elisha Snapp Fry (1924)

COOPER, FRY, LEWELLEN, PATT

Posted By: Kent Transier (email)
Date: 8/28/2009 at 16:52:44

Winterset Madisonian
Thursday, February 21, 1924
Page 7, Column 1

Earlham

The funeral of E. S. Fry, who died at his home on Monday morning, was held from the Friend’s church, Thursday afternoon. Rev. Nelson, assisted by Rev. Fink, had charge of the service.

Mr. Fry was one of the earliest settlers of this community, living near Bear Creek when he first came to Iowa. Later he engaged in business in Earlham and his firm is the oldest now operating in Earlham.

He leaves a wife and five children. One son, James, died less than a year ago. Those living are Mrs. Patt of Minneapolis, George, Ed, Earl, Maggie and Alice all of Earlham, and Denton of Butte, Mont., all of whom were at the funeral.

Transcriber’s Note: Transcribed as published, the number of surviving children appears to be seven rather than the reported "five". Date of death was 11 February 1924 with burial in the Earlham Cemetery.
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Ibid

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Patt of Minneapolis, were called to Earlham the first of last week on account of the death of her father, Lish Fry, who died Monday evening.
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Earlham Echo
Earlham, Iowa
Thursday, February 14, 1924

Pioneer Merchant Called

Mr. E. E. Fry, pioneer Earlham merchant, passed away in the early hours of Monday morning after a years long battle with the forces of disease over which his powerful constitution had repeatedly won a partial victory only to make the final surrender which is the lot of all thing temporal. He fell short by only a month of attaining his 80th birthday, having been born on March 14, 1830 near Winchester, Va.

E. S. Fry has been in the mercantile business here since 1888, when he joined N. A. Packard in the purchase of the F. Bilderback general store, a frame building standing on the present site of the Fry & Packard store. Previous to this date Mr. Packard had been employed in the merchandise store of Call Winters on the present site of the Nellis Produce house for seventeen years. Winters was one of Earlham’s first merchants and was originally in partnership with Mr. J. R. Thomson in a store on the west side of his present residence lot.

Mr. Fry came to Iowa in the latter part of 1868, bringing with him his companion to whom he was married in Virginia in 1855, Miss Mary Lewellen. He located on the present George Fry farm in 1869 and remained there until he entered the mercantile business twenty years later. A man of thrift and industry, he established the foundation of his later success during these first years in the new home.

Four sons and three daughters were born to the union of Elisha Fry and Mary Lewellen. The latter died in 1873, and in 1879 Mr. Fry was married to Mary Cooper, a union to which two sons Ern and Denton were born. Seven children survive this father, Maryland V. Patt, of Minneapolis, Minn., Miss Margaret, George, Alice and Eldred and the two sons Ern and Denton, the latter of Butte, Mont.

Elisha S. Fry was a man of powerful stature, equaled only by his greatness of heart and courage. In all of his extensive business dealings he has won the reputation of an uncompromising honesty, and to his neighbors and friends his kindly and generous spirit was always manifest.

Not until he approached his eightieth year did the magnificent ----- of this sturdy, Virginian have to yield to the attacks of time. His interests were still in the business to which he had devoted the better half of his life, but his body could no longer carry on, and seven years ago he retired from active business in the store. (Parts unreadable)

Funeral services were held at ----- with Rev. John Nelson officiating. All of the business houses closed for an hour and a half or two hours out of respect to this senior business man, and the church was thronged with the host of his relatives and friends. He was laid to rest in Earlham cemetery.

Gravestone Photo
 

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