Charles M. Fry

Charles Meriwether Fry was an American banker.

Early life

Fry was born in Madison County, Virginia, on April 24, 1822. He was the eldest son of Henry Belville Fry and Annie Fry. Among his siblings were Kitty Fry, Maria Elizabeth Fry. After his mother's death, his father married Lucy Clarke, and had three more daughters, Sarah A. Fry, Mary E. Fry, and Clara H. Fry.
His paternal grandparents were Catherine "Kitty" Fry and Joshua Fry. His great-aunt, Clary Stubbs List of [United States political families (H)#The Hawes|Hawes], was the mother of Richard Hawes, 2nd Confederate Governor of Kentucky and U.S. representative Albert Gallatin Hawes.

Career

Fry moved to New York City in 1848. He was elected a director of the Bank of New York in 1874, the same year he was made vice-president of the bank. On January 18, 1876, he was elected to succeed Charles P. Leverich as List of presidents of the [Bank of New York|President of the Bank of New York]. In 1888, he wrote a letter to the editor of The [New York Times], claiming that the Bank "does not hold one dollar of C. G. Francklyn's paper nor has it ever lost a dollar by Mr. Francklyn." He served in that capacity until his death in 1892 when he was succeeded by Ebenezer S. Mason.

Personal life

Fry was married to Elizabeth Wickham Leigh, a daughter of U.S. senator Benjamin W. Leigh and, his third wife, Julia Wickham. Her elder half-brother, William B. Leigh, married Mary White Colston. Through William, she was an aunt of artist William Robinson Leigh.
He died at 279 Lexington Avenue, his home in Manhattan, on November 18, 1892. He was buried at Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.