Henry received his early education in Gardiner before taking a five year course at Wellington College, in Berkshire, England. For preparation to go to Harvard he attended Dixwell‟s school in Boston. Upon graduating from Har-vard in 1869, he took a post-graduate course in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After which he pursued that field and took up his resi-dence in Boston. During this time he married Laura Elizabeth Howe, daughter of Samuel Gridley and Julia Ward Howe. They married in Boston on June 17, 1871. Reverend James Freeman Clark officiated the ceremony, which took place at Church of the Disciples Unitarian. In 1876, they moved to Gardiner and Henry found employment in the firm which his brother, Francis Gardiner, had purchased from their father. Working with his brothers the firm was known as Richards & Company until Francis Gardiner‟s death in 1884 when it was formed into a joint stock company under the name of Richards Paper Company. During this time Henry served as treasurer and general manager. Also during this period he and Laura had seven children.

In 1900 the Richards Paper Company was consolidated with International Paper Company, which purchased the property in Gardiner. At this point Henry worked as an architect during the winters while his summers were spent carrying on a boys camp at a property they purchased on Great Pond in Belgrade, Maine. That camp was known as Camp Merryweather and it was the very first camp for boys opening in 1900. Henry was very involved locally, serving as chairman of the Gardiner school board, trustee of Gardiner Water District, director of the Public Library of Gardiner (he even designed the building), and a member of city council. He was also a vestryman for some year at Christ Church. Henry passed away at his residence, Yellow House, in Gardiner, at age 100, January 26, 1949.