F. BIRD FRY
As cashier of one of the foremost financial
institutions of Corydon, F. Bird Fry occupies an important
position. Many
are the duties of a bank cashier and the position is such as
to demand many high qualities and a clear judgment in
extending credit, making investments and generally managing
the affairs of a financial institution. Mr. Fry has
occupied the position of cashier of the First National Bank
since its organization in February, 1912, and was cashier of
the Citizens State Bank, of which the First National is the
successor, from March, 1909.
Frantz Bird Fry was born in Wayne county, Iowa, on the
2d of March, 1875, and is a son of Francis R. and Carrie M.
(Kellogg) Fry. They
were early Iowa settlers, to which state the father’s family
came in 1857 and the mother’s in 1865. Frantz Bird Fry was
educated in the district schools and graduated from the
Corydon high school with the class of 1895. For two years
thereafter he attended college at Grinnell, Iowa. When the
Spanish-American war broke out and a call was sent forth for
volunteers he enlisted in the Fiftieth Iowa Infantry, April
29, 1898, and was mustered in on May 17th of the
same year. He
remained with his regiment until November 30, 1898, when he
was mustered out at Des Moines.
On January 1, 1899, Mr. Fry became connected with the
banking business as assistant cashier of the Farmers &
Merchants State Bank, of which he was made cashier on February
1, 1904, and served in that capacity until January 1, 1907. In April of that
year he was appointed receiver of the Farmers & Drovers
State Bank of Seymour and discharged his arduous and important
duties in that capacity with great circumspection and ability. In March, 1909, he
was called to the position of cashier of the Citizens State
Bank of Corydon and on the organization of the First National
Bank remained in the same capacity with this institution. It can be truly
said of him that his services has been of the utmost
importance to the bank and that by his work the standing and
resources of the institution have wonderfully increased. His judgment in
matters of finance is clear and he knows how and where to
extend credit, where the most profitable investment can be
secured, and is generally well versed in all matters
pertaining to finance. The
First National Bank is the outcome of the Citizens State Bank,
which was founded in 1882 with an authorized capital of sixty
thousand dollars, which in January, 1894, was reduced to
thirty thousand dollars.
On account of growing business the bank increased its
stock again to sixty thousand dollars, full paid up, in 1900,
as a surplus was added thereto from year to year the capital
and surplus reached, in January, 1906, the formidable figure
of one hundred thousand dollars. The First National Bank was organized in
1912, after taking over the resources of the Citizens State
Bank, with a fully paid in capital of seventy-five thousand
dollars, and its officers consist of: C. W. Steele,
president; Lemuel Kimple, vice president; F. B. Fry, cashier;
and J. T. Rodgers, assistance cashier. The board of
directors consist of C. W. Steele, Lemuel Kimple, F. B. Fry,
Belle B. Sproatt, W. E. Miles, J. A. Hogue ad W. G. Walker.
On June 28, 1899, Mr. Fry was united in marriage to
Emma C. Stromsten, of Corydon, who is a daughter of G. A. and
Sophia Stromsten, natives of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have one son, Lawrence
L., born November 22, 1902.
Both are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Fry is
public-spirited and has not only in the course of his position
as cashier indirectly benefited the community and contributed
to its growth, but has found time to actively participate in
the municipal government as member of the town council. He has always
interested himself in the matter of education and also served
as a member of the school board for a time. By industry and
energy he has found substantial reward in his labors and has
made a creditable business record, having made steady progress
in his line of work by the utilization of every opportunity as
it presented itself. He
is a man of strong character and recognized as a forceful
element in the community, his sterling traits having won him
the high regard and confidence of all with whom he has come
into contact.