Identity area
Type of entity
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Authorized form of name
Henry, William
Parallel form(s) of name
- Henry, Reverend William
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Description area
Dates of existence
21 June 1770 - 1 April 1859
History
William Henry was born in Sligo, Ireland, in 1770. He was a carpenter and joiner before joining the London Missionary Society. He married Sarah Maben and together they had four surviving children. In August 1796, they joined a group of missionaries aboard the 'Duff' in sailing for Tahiti. After deciding it was too dangerous, the missionaries continued on to Sydney, Australia aboard the 'Nautilus'. Along with shipmate James Fleet Cover, Henry established three congregations in Sydney, including at Parramatta, Toongabbie and Kissing Point, which later became St Anne's in Ryde.
In 1811, the family returned to Tahiti and Henry was inducted as a minister in a Tahitian church. His wife, Sarah, died in 1812. On a return visit to Sydney in 1813, he remarried, to Ann Shepherd. They went on to have ten children together. They remained in the islands until retiring to Sydney in 1848. William continued to preach at Kissing Point. He died in 1848, and Sarah in 1882.
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Sources
Niel Gunson, 'Henry, William (1770–1859)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/henry-william-2236/text2297, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 19 December 2025.