Henry Hicks (1870-1954) was born in 1870 in Westbury, Long Island, New York. In 1892 he graduated from New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell (now Cornell University) with a degree in agriculture, after studying under renowned horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey. Hicks married Caroline Jackson in 1900 and they had three children, Ester (Mrs. John M. G. Emory) in 1902, Edwin in 1906, and William in 1910. Hicks was the first college-trained horticulturist in the family business, Hicks Nurseries, which was established in Westbury, Long Island, in 1853 by Hicks’ grandfather, Isaac Hicks, a farmer and Quaker preacher. Hicks’ father, Edward Hicks, developed tree moving machinery that the nursery used to specialize in tree moving during the time large estates were being built on Long Island from the early 1900s to the late 1920s. During Hicks’ lifetime he helped to expand Hicks Nurseries from 25 acres to 350 acres with 300 employees, and it remains today the oldest nursery on Long Island.

Henry Hicks corresponded with numerous leading horticulturists and plant explorers and held an interest in new and rare plants from Asia that were well suited to the northeastern climate. He was responsible for the reintroduction of the Shipmast Locust tree and the development of Taxus media hicksii or Hicks Yew that became a Long Island hedge favorite. Hicks was also a popular lecturer and an advocate of education to further interest young people in the field of botany. Extremely active in both professional associations and community affairs, Hicks worked tirelessly to help and inspire others to beautify the countryside and their gardens. Hicks was awarded several honors for his outstanding commitment to service, including the Johnny Appleseed Award from the Men’s Garden Clubs of America in 1943. Henry Hicks, well known as a modest, unselfish, and generous Quaker, died on October 20, 1954.