I have been trying, without much success, to trace information about my great grandfather Patrick Joseph Leary, a.k.a. Learey or Gannon-Leary who served with the 11th Hussars around 1880. Although he married under the name Patrick Joseph Leary, he seems to have taken his wife, Elizabeth Bridget Gannon’s surname at some time.
There is a census entry for 1881 for Private John Gannon, 11th Hussars and, in the 1891 census, the head of the family is James J Gannon, Sergeant in the Reserve Force Cavalry. However, I know my great-grandmother had a brother James Gannon and am unsure if this is her husband or brother. She herself is not listed in this census but many of the children are listed as sons/daughters of James J. Gannon.
Patrick’s children are listed in the Army Births and Baptisms – and all are recorded under both names Gannon and Leary apart from the youngest, Charles, born 1888, who appears only under the name Gannon. All entries are for a father serving with the 11th Hussars.
I made a freedom of information request to the National Archives who searched WO 97/3274, WO 97/5324 or WO 97/6371 under the name Leary or near variations and 1880s muster books without success. Earlier muster books list one 1864 Private J J Gannon, who enlisted at Hounslow on 14th September 1880. The last entry TNA were able to locate for him was as Lance Sergeant in E Troop in the muster dated 1st April 1890 at Aldershot.
I located a Patrick Leary, Grenadier Guards in document WO97/1864 in FindMyPast. He was discharged from the guards on medical grounds. I am wondering if, having been discharged as not fit for service in 1879, he could have re-enlisted using his wife’s surname? Nothing within the records confirms this. However, his occupation is given as ‘musician’ on his daughter Norah’s baptism is not inconsistent since this was between Private Patrick Leary’s discharge and Private J.J. Gannon’s enlistment and Patrick was a drummer in 1873-74. I thought the number 1864 might be significant as a service number as it appears in the Leary Grenadier Guards record and the
Gannon Hussars record but TNA say this duplication of the number is just coincidental.
TNA didn’t think it worth my while to search earlier musters since there was no evidence of a soldier named Leary or Gannon at the time when his first child, his daughter Kathleen’s birth was registered (1876). Also they were unable to help with respect to records for the Reserve Cavalry given as James J. Gannon’s regiment in the 1891 census.
I am wondering if you are able to give me any further advice with respect to this, especially as I am unclear on who provides information to the General Register Office for Army Births and Baptisms. Is this done by the soldier himself, by his unit or by the priest? Why would both the names Gannon and Leary be on the children’s records if Patrick had changed his name to Gannon and why, indeed, would he feel the need to change his forename as well as his surname?
As you can imagine this is very frustrating for me as Patrick Joseph Leary/James J Gannon just seems to disappear off the planet after 1891. Family rumours abound, e.g. he hit an officer, he deserted, he headed off to the US during the gold rush but, unfortunately, older family members who might have less apocryphal information about great grandfather are no longer with us.