[5] He was born in New York City on March 3, 1860 to Brevet Major Thomas William Gardiner Fry (1832-1869), who served in the American Civil War, and Frances E. Olney.

He was the great grandson of Captain Benjamin Fry (d. 1799) who served in the Rhode Island Militia during the American Revolution.

[6] Fry joined the New York Naval Militia when it was founded in 1892 and rose to become its Chief of Staff holding the rank of Engineer Lieutenant-Commander.

He was promoted on June 22, 1898 as Acting Chief Engineer aboard the armed yacht USS Stranger and served as part of the West Indies Blockading Squadron off Havana, Cuba.

[7] In 1900 he was named as the naval aide-de-camp to Governor Theodore Roosevelt to replace Samuel Dana Greene, Jr. who died of hypothermia when he fell through the ice while skating in Schenectady, New York.

[1] In addition to his position with the Government, Fry also worked as a consultant in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineer for large corporations.

[8] Fry was appointed on February 18, 1904, by Governor Benjamin Odell of New York as a member of the Board of Consulting Engineers for canal construction and enlargement.