He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles (3.2 km) outside Sheffield, England.

Henry's father had described himself as a stonemason in the 1851 census but as a farmer when the children were baptized.

[1] In the 1871 census, 19-year-old Henry is living with his parents and is shown as a joiner's apprentice.

The next year, he married Hannah White (1855–1941) and moved to Napier Street, Sheffield, sandwiched between the Anglican Church and the Plymouth Brethren meeting hall.

[1] Henry worked as an employee in the building industry for around 20 years before establishing his own joinery shop in 1886.