George Anthony Henry was born on October 27, 1876 in North Dorchester Township, and was the youngest of eight children born to John Henry (1832-1877) and Sarah Nesbitt (1834-1918). The family moved to London around the year 1877, where Henry lived most of his life. Henry worked in the photography industry as an assistant retoucher for London photographer Francis G. Westlake before setting up his own photography studio at 180 Dundas Street in 1905. He later relocated his business in the 1930s, where he operated out of his home at 279 Queens Ave., Apt. 20. Henry mostly photographed individual portraits, but sometimes captured photos of marriage certificates, wedding photos, military personnel, London Firemen, nurses, animals, cars, and buildings.
In the early months of 1994, a collection of Henry’s negatives was discovered in the crawlspace of a house located at 81 Thornton Ave, a neighboring home to the one at 77 Thornton Ave which Henry owned from 1920-1927. It is believed that all other work produced by Henry was discarded after his death. The surviving negatives were donated to Archives and Special Collections in 2006.
Outside of his business, Henry participated in several social clubs including St. John’s Athletic Club, Thistle Bowling Club, St. Peter’s Club and Travelers, Knights of Maccabees, and was a member of St. Peter’s Cathedral. Henry married Marguerite Kilgallin, ca. 1919.