A tall, handsome man, Henry Hershey has been described as possessing “an alert and inquiring mind,” as well as a love of learning and books. Nevertheless, he seems always to have had difficulty earning a living and supporting his family. His life consisted of chasing dreams and finding failure as he traveled about in pursuit of one unsuccessful business scheme after another.

In 1856, Henry Hershey married Fanny Snavely, a girl from a respected Lancaster County family. But while Henry was a “head in the clouds” type, Fanny was definitely the down-to-earth sort. With such opposite personalities, husband and wife soon became estranged from each other.