George Fry was the third child of William Fry & Elizabeth Morphew christened March 30th, 1834 at Wivelsfield, Sussex.
In 1841 George was living with his parents & brother William at Western Lane, Chailey, Sussex.
In 1851 George was living & working at home at Goodwins Farm, East Grinstead & was still there in 1861.
The Sussex Advertiser of April 25th, 1865 reported on the recent suicide of George Fry of Goodwin’s farm.
The Kentish Gazette of May 9th, & the Sussex Advertiser of May 2nd, 1865 reported on the inquest of George. A farm labourer, James Godfrey, had gone to the loft over the stable to get some hay & discovered George’s body fastened to a beam by a cord around his neck. His dog was nearby. The labourer had been working with George that afternoon & reported that they had had dinner together during which the deceased stated that he would like to drink enough to kill himself & not know anything about it. George’s mother, Elizabeth, who had been present at the dinner said it was wicked of him to talk like that. George had answered ‘ Oh I will before long.’ He said that if he had £1,000 neither his brother nor his sister should see a penny of it. His mother stated that George was very hot-tempered & was upset at not having received a letter from his brother. The jury returned a verdict of suicide, the state of mind of the deceased being unsettled. Interestingly the reports on the inquest state that George & his mother were living at Fry’s Farm, not Goodwin’s Farm.
George was buried on April 26th, 1865 at East Grinstead, Sussex.