James,
Courtesy of the IGC:
"William Fry was born in Birmingham in 1813. In the 1851 census he was recorded as a journeyman gunsmith living at 4 South Street, Derby, with his wife, Mary Ann Fry ( b.1812 ), his son, John ( b.1838 ), and his daughter, Emma ( b.1840 ); all were born in Birmingham. William must have been doing work for John Holmes or John Robinson or both of them.
In the 1861 census John Fry was recorded as a joiner ( aged 24 ) married to Emma ( aged 20 born in Derby ), they were living at 218 Abbey Street with John Bamford, John's brother-in-law. The description "joiner" may well be a census misunderstanding, his occupation may have been "stocker".
In 1862 William Fry was recorded at 45 Sadler Gate. He appears to have moved in about 1871 to 33 Sadler Gate, but he died in 1873.
In 1881 John Fry was recorded as a gun maker at 14 Sadler Gate. By this date he and Emma had two sons, William ( a gunmaker aged 18 ) and John ( a telegraph clerk aged 15 ). They also had three daughters.
John Fry ( the father ) was recorded in the 1901 census aged 63 still in business at 14 Sadler Gate and still married to Emma, but his son, William had died in 1895. It is believed the business continued until 1920."
