© Kathy Duncan, 2025
R. H. Fry's 1875 Christmas advertisement, featuring Miss I. F. Walker's "stocking head dolls," provided documentation that Izannah Walker's dolls were sold by other merchants or wholesalers besides E. W. Billings of the Butler Exchange.
When I researched Mrs. F. H. (Lydia A.) Hayward, who also sold "stocking head dolls," I did not find a personal connection between her and Izannah Walker. R. H. Fry, however, likely had personal ties to Izannah years before he carried her dolls in 1875. In fact, he may have been stocking her dolls before 1875.
R. H. Fry was Rowland Hussey Fry, who married Mary Lee Perry in 1858. In 1867, thirty-three-year-old Fry was operating a news stand and opened a second news stand next door to Perry's meat market. Not only did he carry various newspapers and stationery, but he also operated a circulating library.
In 1886, The Providence Daily Journal published a history of the formation of the Embury M. E. Church in Central Falls because their new church building was finished, and they were reopening. This small snippet is of interest to Izannah Walker doll lovers. On 10 April 1868, a group met in the home of Mary C. Bragg, who was living on Jenks, possibly with Izannah Walker still in residence. They were meeting to consider forming a Methodist Episcopal Church in Central Falls. In this list of charter members of the church are Mary C. Bragg and R.H. Fry's wife, Mary L. Fry. Rowland H. Fry was a trustee. This list suggests that R. H. Fry and Izannah Walker were acquainted with each other, even though Izannah Walker and Emeline Whipple were not among the charter members of Embry M. E.
In March of 1869, R. H. Fry branched out into a patent mop/wringer combination and was seeking salesmen, aka "agents," to sell them in town or in the country.
Two months later, in May, Fry opened a dry goods store in Central Falls that catered to the clothing needs of gentlemen.
By October 1869, he had expanded to offering a variety of fabrics at his shop located at 130 High Street. His stock continued to evolve over the next few months and years.
In 1869, he was also stocking ladies' underwear and shawls.
During the Christmas season of 1869, The Weekly Visitor published this review of the ladies' shawls that Fry carried in his store.
By January 1870, he was carrying a full line of ladies' accessories.
Right before Christmas of 1870, this review of R.H. Fry's store ran in The Weekly Visitor. It offered the tantalizing information that Fry's store window held "a large doll, some three feet high," which was being offered as a contest prize. Contestants just had to guess its age, and the person coming the closest would win it. There is no other description of this doll that I can find, and no information about who won it. R. H. Fry does not seem to have mentioned this contest in any of his advertisements that year.
Knowing that R. H. Fry was probably personally acquainted with Izannah Walker and that the doll in his store window was "some three feet," I immediately thought of a 29" doll attributed to Izannah Walker. The story is that it was rescued from a trash heap in Providence. Dixie Redmond had the opportunity to study this doll and took very informative photographs of it. The doll was sold at a James Julia auction in 2013. You can see this doll on Dixie's blog
here and
here.
There is absolutely no way to know if the doll in R.H. Fry's window was made by Izannah Walker, but it is so easy to imagine her large doll sitting there.
The 1871 Providence City Directory provided the information that Rowland H. Fry lived at 19 Jenks, which was probably across the street from Mary C. Bragg's residence. Not only did they attend the same church, but they also lived in close proximity to each other. He likely would have known her circle of friends and acquaintances.
By 1872,
Emeline Whipple, Izannah Walker's roommate and doll-making partner, was a member of the Embury M. E. Church. This further reinforces the idea that R. H. Fry and Izannah F. Walker would have known each other. At this point, I do not know if Izannah was also a member of the Embury M. E. Church.
R. H. Fry continued to carry a variety of dolls in his stores. This 1880 article describes his charming store window full of dolls and toys for Christmas.
