Hingerty Hennerty Hicks?

Percival Augustus Hennerty

Percival Augustus HENNERTY was born in Brisbane 22 August 1891. The third of four sons born to John HENNERTY (1864-1930) and his wife, Sarah Bradbury.

Percival's grandfather, William HINGERTY was born in Ballybeg Tipperary in 1840, the son of William HINGERTY and Mary Quinlan. William arrived in Sydney on board the Ocean Empress in 1862. Three of his sisters had emigrated previously. His sisters all married and lived in New South Wales.

William HINGERTY married Ann Corcoran in Sydney 23 May 1864. Sometime between the marriage in May and the birth of their first child, John on 5 Dec 1864, the couple moved to Brisbane and changed their name to HENNERTY.

The cause of the change of location and surname is not known, but henceforth they and all their descendants were known as HENNERTY not HINGERTY.

Back to Percy....

Percy's childhood was not an easy one.

A month before he was born, Percy's mother Sarah successfully took his father John to court for deserting his son - which son?

Were the family living together at this time? or had John left his family? There must have been a reconciliation as John and Sarah had a fourth son together, Herbert in 1893 in Brisbane.

In late 1902 John (who was reportedly hard of hearing) was struck by a train from behind while working on the railways causing serious injuries.

John was treated in Brisbane Hospital. In August 1903 he was transferred to the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum for three months as he had no one to care for him. He never left the Asylum, becoming the gardener and dying there of a heart condition in 1930. Thus began a long family relationship with this institution.

In the 1903 Asylum admission register John is listed as a Widower, his two youngest boys Percival and Herbert are listed as being in the Nudgee Orphanage and the two older boys William Joseph and John Jnr were living in Petrie Terrace Brisbane and working at Johnson's Boot Factory. (It seems that John Jnr worked at Johnson's his whole life as his death notice in 1945 listed him 'late of Johnson and Sons".)

Sarah Hingerty

Where was Percy's mother Sarah at this time? Why did she not care for the boys and their injured father? Why is John listed as a Widower?

Sarah was not dead in 1903. She did not die until 1927 of "cirrhosis of the liver with intense jaundice" at the General Hospital in Bundaberg, Queensland. Her marriage to John Hennerty and three of their four sons are listed on her death certificate. The Informants were the Matron of the Bundaberg Hospital where she died and J Petty of Gin Gin listed as 'no relation" - who is J Petty?

Was Sarah in contact with her sons throughout their lives?

Percy may or may not have been in contact with his mother, but he was in close contact with his father's family.

Back to Percy

In 1915 Percy was living at Latrobe Terrace in Brisbane with his grandmother Ann, his older brother John Jnr, his aunt and uncle Mary and Patrick William and their daughter Margaret Ann. Their son Vincent born in 1904 was probably also living there but, as he was not of voting age, he was not listed in the 1915 electoral roll. All the males are listed as Labourers and the women as Home Duties.

In Brisbane in November 1916 Percy enlisted for the army, listing his father, a resident at Dunwich as his Next of Kin. His photo was included in a pictorial supplement in The Queenslander newspaper on 27 October 1917. His older brother William Joseph had enlisted two months prior.

His enlistment papers describe Percival as 5 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, weighing 125 pounds, of sallow complexion with blue eyes and brown hair.

Percival had a spotless war record. He embarked from Sydney on board the Ayrshire bound for the UK on 24 January 1917. From England he went to France leaving South Hampton on 18 October 1917. He fought in France and Belgium achieving a field promotion to the rank of sergeant and later to honorary captain.

There are no disciplinary matters listed in his record and he was never wounded nor hospitalised.

He enjoyed two periods of leave back in the UK from 14 October 1918 to 2 November 1918 and from 9 March 1919 to 23 March 1919.

He returned to Australia on the Takada on 18 July 1919 and was demobilised with no wounds or disabilities.

In 1921 he was back living at La Trobe Terrace once again with his grandmother Ann, brother John Jnr, aunt and uncle Mary and Patrick William and their daughter Margaret Ann and son Vincent.

By 1925 the family had moved to the corner of Ewart Street and Central Avenue. Grandmother Ann had died in 1922 at the Dunwich Asylum, and Margaret Ann had married in 1923 so they were not living in the household. Percival is also absent. John Jnr, Mary and Patrick William and their son Vincent are living in the Ewart Street residence.

Where is Percival living? He never appeared again living with this household, nor anywhere in Brisbane. There is no death or marriage record for him in Victoria, NSW or Queensland after 1921.

Where did Percival disappear to?

To look for a possible answer we need to go back to his military file...

In 1962 the Queensland Public Curator wrote to the Army records department in Canberra requesting information about one Percival Hicks who enlisted in Brisbane in 1916 under the name Hennessy. Percival Hicks had died in 1959 and the Curator was attempting to trace relatives and/or a Will.

The army records department responded that there was no Percival Hennessy but that there was a Percival Hennerty.....

The Curator responded requesting information about Percival Hennerty- next of kin, will, signature. The army record department responded with samples of his signature, the name and address of his father at the time of enlistment and stated that he left no will with the army. There is no further correspondence on the matter in his military file.

Looking for the Percy Hicks who died 13 October 1959 in Gympie Queensland, we find that he suddenly appeared on the Electoral Rolls from 1925-1958 as a labourer living alone in the small rural town of Dagun near Gympie.

Percy HICKS appeared in Dagun at the same time as Percy HENNERTY disappeared from Brisbane.

His death record has no information about his parents. He died of a heart condition and pancreatic cancer.

Are Percival HENNERTY and Percival HICKS the same man?

If he is the same man, why did he leave Brisbane, move to the Gympie area and change his name?

If you know anything about Percival or his extended family, I would love to hear from you!

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