He made a fortune shipping ice cut from New England ponds to ports in the Caribbean, Europe, and as far away as India and Hong Kong.

In 1806 (age 23), Tudor bought his first brig, Favorite, to carry ice cut from his father's farm in Saugus 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Charlestown to Martinique.

"[6] While he secured a cargo of ice, a vessel in which to ship it, and formulated his plan of attack, he sent his brother William and his cousin, James Savage, ahead to obtain a monopoly from the various governments of the islands.

[6] Tudor had his first profits in 1810 when his gross sales amounted to about $7,400, then increasing to just short of $9,000; but of that, he received only $1,000 owing to the "villainous conduct" of his agent.

By 1816, Tudor was shipping ice from Massachusetts to Cuba with ever-increasing efficiency and decided to try his hand at importing Cuban fruit to New York.

The experiment ended in disaster as virtually all the fruit rotted during the month-long voyage, leaving Tudor with several thousand dollars' worth of new debt.

In 1833, fellow Boston-based merchant Samuel Austin proposed a partnership for selling ice to India, then some 16,000 miles (26,000 km) and four months away from Massachusetts.

When Tudor's India business collapsed as a result of the invention of making ice by the stream process[clarification needed], the icehouse in Madras was sold, and remodeled to become the Vivekanandar Illam.

In the summer of 1833, at the age of 50, Frederic had turned his attentions to 19-year-old Euphemia Fenno, who met him while she was visiting Boston from Mount Upton, New York.

[2] Although Tudor was now just a small part of the trade, his profits allowed him to pay off his debts and resume living a comfortable existence.

In 1825, after constructing his summer cottage in the center of town, he began a lifelong campaign to plant trees on treeless Nahant.

Frederic Tudor died in Boston at his house on the northwest corner of Beacon and Joy Streets on Saturday, February 6, 1864.

He was buried in the King's Chapel cemetery on Tremont Street in the Tudor family tomb (number thirteen), but his remains may later have been moved.