Necrology of 1889. 



219 



JOHN HENDERSON. 



After a long and painful illness John Henderson passed away on Tues- 

 day, December 17, the immediate cause of death being heart failure. With 

 him horticulture loses one of its noblest representatives, loved and honored 

 by all who enjoyed the privilege of his friendship as a Christian and a gen- 

 tleman. 



Mr. Henderson was born in London, England, December 5, 1818, where 

 he received a classical education, taking a prize in Greek scholarship at the 

 age of 15. He came to America in 1856, and settled in Flushing, on Long 

 Island, which continued to be his home until 1888. He soon became an au- 

 thority in horticulture, making a specialty of roses. He delivered the first 

 horticultural lecture ever given in the Cooper Institute, for which he receiv- 

 ed a silver medal. He was a life member of the New York Horticultural 

 Society and the American Institute, constantly officiating as judge at the 

 exhibitions of both bodies, and was also prominent in the Society of Am- 

 erican Florists and Nurserymen's Association. He retired from active 

 business last year, taking a long trip to the Pacific Coast for the benefit of 

 his health, which was far from robust at the time. On his return he re- 

 moved to Brooklyn, where he resided until his death. 



During his long residence in Flushing, Mr. Henderson was identified with 

 all public and philanthropic work. The Flushing Hospital, close to his 

 nursery, is a monument to his benevolence, he having largely endowed it, 

 and given the land on which it stands. He was president of the electric 

 railway and vice-president of the Flushing Savings Bank. 



Mr. Henderson was an accomplished linguist, speaking four modern 

 languages with fluency, apart from his acquaintance with the classics. He 

 made frequent trips abroad, both to the Continent and to his home country, 

 for which he always felt a warm regard. 



Mr. Henderson was naturally a prominent figure at all horticultural 

 gatherings in and around New York. His slight figure and calm, benevo- 

 lent face, framed in silvery hair, was always greeted with affectionate good 

 will, and his suave dignity of manner and unvarying courtesy gained him 

 the respect and regard of all who met him. He was a perfect gentleman 

 of the old school, genial, upright and brave, with the courage of his convic- 

 tions. He leaves a widow and two daughters. — New York Times. 



John Henderson 



Came to Jersey City and begin business in a small way in forcing the 

 finer kinds of vegetables for the New York market, a business of which he 

 knew nothing, but his energy and strong common sense soon enabled him 

 to equal and surpass most of his contemporaries. He gradually drifted 

 from this business to that of florist, where he was more at home, for his 

 early training in his father's firm of E. G. Henderson & Sons, Wellington 

 Road, London, had made him an adept in all florist operations, so that by 

 the time he had been in business five years he became noted as growing the 

 best plants and flowers sent into the city of New York. Probably no man 

 ever lived who saw quicker the way to develop the best qualities of plants 

 than our old friend. He not only originated many varieties and developed 

 the merits of others, but many valuable methods of culture were evolved 



