FRY, MRS. ELIZABETH, was the third daughter of John Gurney, Esq., of Earlham Hall, near Norwich, an opulent merchant and hanker, and a member of the Society of Friends. Elizabeth Gurney was barn May 21, 1780, at Bremerton, four miles from Norwich, where her parents had then a summer residence; in winter they occupied a large and commodious house in Norwich. They were not plain Friends,' that is, they did not wear the plain dress of the Quakers, nor use `thou' and thee' in place of the ordinary you,' nor abstain from the usual amusements of social life. They of course attended the Friends' meeting-house at Norwich, and the monthly and quarterly and yearly meetings; but in other respects there was little distinction between them and the gentry who belonged to the Church of England. Mrs. Gurney died when Elizabeth was only twelve years of age, leaving seven daughters and four sous. Mr. Gurney's business-pursuits led him into intercourse with persons of all denominations; and a warm heart, social disposition, and courteous manners, introduced him to many acquaintances without as well as within the pale of the Society of Friends. The daughters, as they advanced in years, especially the three eldest, dressed gaily, and tang and danced—sometimes attending concerts and balls at Norwich, and sometimes pursuing their favourite amusements at Earlham Hail, which had then become their father's country residence.
Elizabeth Gurney, from the age of fourteen to seventeen, was, as she herself states iu her 'Diary, somewhat sceptical, and her doubts greatly distressed her. While she was in this fluctuating state of mind, William Savery, an American Quaker, paid a religious visit to England, and, on the 4th of February 1798, preached in the Friends' meeting-house at Norwich. His discourse produced a very strong effect upon her feelings, and turned the balance of her judgment in favour of religion—a change which subsequent discourses and conver sations tended strongly to confirm. She had made great progress towards becoming a ' plain Friend,' and instructed about ecveuty poor children in her father's house at Norwich, when Joseph Fry, who, with his brother, carried on an extensive business in London, paid a visit to Mr. Gurney at Earlham Hall. While there he made an offer of marriage to Elizabeth Gurney; and on the 19th of August 1800 they were married in the Friends meeting-house in Noievich. Joseph Fry and his family belonged to the strict section of the Quakers, and Elizabeth Fry was now prepared to adopt their usages. She resided
with her husband in his house of business, Mildreri's•Court, in the City of London, till the spring of 1809, when, on the death of her husband's father, she removed to Plashet ]louse, Essex. In 1810 she became a preacher among the Friends, and over afterwards continued to perform with great zeal tise duties of her sacred office.
In the mouth of February 1813 oho visited the prison of Newgato in London, and saw about 300 women, tried and untried, with numer ous children, crowded together, without classification or employmeut, iu rage and dirt, with no bedding, and nothing but the floor to sleep on. The season was inclement, and she supplied them with some necessary covering. After several other visits, and making much im provement in their manners as well as their condition, she in 1817 succeeded in establishing n Ladies' Committee for the reformation of the female prisoners in Newgate—the sheriffs of Loudon and the governor of the prison granting their permission, but affording no assistance. A school and a manufactory were established in the prison; and riot, iutoxhlation, and filth, were succeeded by order, sobriety, and neatness. The improvements which she had been the means of introducing into Nesvgate were gradually extended to other prisons. She had interviews with the most influential of the ministers, was examined before the Howie of Commons, obtained the assistance of clergymen, and visited different parts of the kingdom, Including Scotland and Ireland, for the purpose of carrying out her benevolent plans. She next turned her attention to the female convicts sentenced to transportation, and Introduced many improvements, tending not only to ameliorate their condition but to reform their characters. From 1833 to 1836 eke paid visits to Jersey and Guernsey; and about the same time procured the introduction of libraries in the coast guard stations and the government packets. From 1837 to 1842 she visited the principal towns in France, Belgium, Germany, and Hollaud, chiefly for the purpose of extending her improvements in prison-dis cipline. She died on the 12th of October 1845 at Ramsgate, and was buried in the Friends' burying-ground at Barking in Essex. She bore ten children, moat of whom were living at the time of her death.
(Memoir of Elizabeth Fry, with Extracts from her Journals; edited by Two of her Daughters, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1847.)